Entomophobia

{{Short description|Fear of insects and bugs}}

{{For|the plant genus|Entomophobia (plant)}}

Entomophobia, sometimes known as insectophobia, is a specific phobia characterized by an excessive or unrealistic fear (disgust) of one or more classes of insect, and classified as a phobia by the DSM-5. More specific cases include katsaridaphobia (fear of cockroaches), melissophobia (fear of bees), myrmecophobia (fear of ants), and lepidopterophobia (fear of moths and butterflies). One book claims 6% of all US inhabitants have this phobia.{{cite book|last=Lockwood|first=Jeffrey|title=The Infested Mind: Why Humans Fear, Loathe, and Love Insects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xZ0LAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA110|access-date=13 December 2015|date=2013-09-25|publisher=Oxford UP|isbn=9780199374939|pages=110–}}

Entomophobia may develop after the person has had a traumatic experience with the insect(s). It may develop early or later in life and is quite common among animal phobias. Typically, one has a fear of one specific type of insect. However, in some cases, this fear may encompass all organisms of the phylum Arthropoda. Entomophobia leads to behavioral changes: the person with entomophobia will avoid situations where they may encounter a specific type of insect. Cognitive behavioral therapy is considered an effective treatment.{{cite book|first=Randi E.|last=McCabe|editor1-last=Milosevic|editor1-first=Irena |editor2-last=McCabe|editor2-first=Randi E. |title=Phobias: The Psychology of Irrational Fear: The Psychology of Irrational Fear|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1BfYBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA125|year=2015|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781610695763|pages=125–27}}