Entomophobia

Entomophobia, sometimes known as insectophobia, is a specific phobia characterized by excessive or unrealistic fear or disgust of one or more classes of insect, and is classified as a phobia by the DSM-5. More specific cases include katsaridaphobia, fear of cockroaches, melissophobia, fear of bees, spheksophobia, fear of wasps, myrmecophobia, fear of ants, and lepidopterophobia, fear of moths and butterflies; one book claims six percent of all United States inhabitants have this phobia. Entomophobia may develop after a traumatic experience with an insect, may develop early or later in life, and is common among animal phobias; typically a person fears one specific type of insect, though in some cases the fear may encompass all organisms of the phylum Arthropoda, and the phobia leads to behavioral changes as the person avoids situations where they may encounter the feared insect. Cognitive behavioral therapy is considered an effective treatment.