I respect the adaptations and ecological importance of ticks, but…I really dislike them and they creep me out.
Large centipedes (eg https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/53769-Scolopendra-subspinipes) also creep me out, having grown up with them in Hawaii and knowing people who’ve received some nasty stings.
Ticks. That’s probs it.
That’s the National Bird of the People’s Republic of Northern Ontario you’re talking about, as referenced in our national anthem.
Somehow that reminded me of our unofficial state motto and our own cringe-worthy species: “New Mexico: Land of the flea, home of the plague.” (I used to have the bumper sticker.) I think Arizona adopted that motto too.
Ticks, probably due to having caught some truly horrifying diseases from them.
Those parasites that eat fish tongues and then sit there pretending to be a tongue…euugh.
And I have a difficult time with anything that creates massive swarms, particularly ants (though I will still try to get a picture of them as I retreat hastily).
The McGarrigles! Awesome. I only experienced Black Flies in my early 30’s, and the first bite I had swelled up to the size of my hand. You guys need the muddy, slow rivers that we have in Manitoba.
I vividly remember waking up one early morning on a day I was supposed to take a long flight overseas with excruciating pain and what I thought was tinnitus in one of my ears. I got up in a slight panic, expecting to have to see a doctor to get it checked out before heading to the airport. As I was splashing some water in my face and shaking my head in hopes of making it better, I looked up in the mirror just in time to see a somewhat drowsy ladybug crawling out of my ear. Presumably it was looking for a cozy warm place to sleep and my movement disturbed its slumber. Now I cringe every fall when they come inside in droves for the winter. Invading our houses is one thing, but invading my ear canal - that’s a big NO from me.
Leeches.
shudder
Same.
Like those arachnophobia memes, where there is a picture of a spider in the house, and words to the effect, “Now I’d better burn down the house.” Are they supposed to be funny? Because they’re not!
I will agree about the leeches – nothing lovable or cuddly about them! And that one fish parasite that takes the place of the fish’s tongue – gross!
On the other hand, I’d have to say that at the top of my cringe list is that pernicious and destructive species, the Climate Denier.
I actually love leeches, living not in tropics and seeing them not too much helps with that (but I actually seek after them). I find Hippoboscidae quite disturbing because of their elusiveness on your head, they have strange-looking abdomen, they’re almost impossible to kill or just to catch, and somehow I still have zero observations of them. Otherwise I don’t think I don’t like anything, there’re groups you don’t wanna touch you because e.g. they live and eat on carrion or have a big list of possible decieses on them, but that doesn’t make them worse animals, it’s like having a distance between you and a tiger.
°|°
Agreed. Ticks are absolutely horrifying and probably the only insect I find truly disgusting. Other than a mosquito that is squashed and leaves a huge bloodstain on my hand. :)
Ohhh. Ughhh. They are absolutely disgusting.
Btw this post has blown up pretty hard, wow!
I actively like spiders & don’t mind centipedes / millipedes / silverfish or any other creepy-crawly. Except for cockroaches. I can just about deal with the small ones, but the big ones, what in NYC we call waterbugs or Croton bugs, elicit a scream that apparently doesn’t sound like any other noise I’ve ever made & that brings my wife running with shoe held high.
As for that fish-tongue-eating parasite, I only hope never to encounter one.
Welcome to the Forum! Always lots to talk about.
Personally I feel that it’s important to acknowledge the human perspective of nature. There will never be an unbiased view, so we may as well acknowledge the biases and fears in hopes of better understanding them.
From a certain perspective, every living thing is only trying to survive, from kittens to bubonic plague. All value and all categorization we give to life is through a human lens whether you like it or not.
Personally the only thing that turns my stomach are some specific endoparasites. As much as I think their adaptations are excellent and smart, my gut can’t handle actually looking and video recordings or detailed descriptions.
Botflies are pretty nasty, hence my post from this summer
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/chipmunk-bot-flies-wa/25627
I also tend to ‘cringe’ at excessive lawns and invasive plants (english ivy, creeping buttercup, scots broom, japanese knotweed, Himalayan blackberry (see im going on a tangent just talking about them))
ARGHH BOTFLIES
Ughhh they are probably the disgusting-est creature in existence. Ohhh God even mentioning them is hard :(
Just the opposite here. My parents regularly do weed cleanups every few months, but since I love native plants I set up a 1 square metre area and let it flourish. It looks gorgeous now :)
craneflies and dobsonflies kinda creep me out. also not a fan of kentucky bluegrass because monoculture lawns are cringe
Surprised nobody mentioned the chigoe flea (Tunga penetrans). There are 23 observations on iNat, but I can’t stand looking at them, so I’m not going to link to them. Suffice it to say, YECHHH! I’d rather have a tick, or even a leech, and that’s the truth!