entomophobe

plural entomophobes

1. A person who fears or dislikes insects.

   Salvador Dali is one of the best examples of an entomophobe. He used ants, grasshoppers and flies in his paintings based on his personal experiences.

   2022 August 27, John G. Stoffolano, Jr., “Synanthropic Flies—A Review Including How They Obtain Nutrients, along with Pathogens, Store Them in the Crop and Mechanisms of Transmission”, in Insects., →DOI, →PMID, →PMCID, page 776

   3 more examples

   We're not like the entomophiles who harbor spiders as housemates or derive sexual satisfaction from the tickling of ants. And we're certainly not crazy entomophobes who run panic-stricken into the streets upon encountering a cockroach […]

   2013, Jeffrey Lockwood, The Infested Mind: Why Humans Fear, Loathe, and Love Insects

   Violet, 14, was concerned about causing pain to notorious entomophobe villager Blathers: “I never have him talk about the bugs because I know he hates bugs.”

   2022 July 28, Katy E. Pearce, Jason C. Yip, Jin Ha Lee, Jesse J. Martinez, Travis W. Windleharth, Arpita Bhattacharya, Qisheng Li, “Families Playing Animal Crossing Together: Coping With Video Games During the COVID-19 Pandemic”, in Games and culture., →DOI, →PMID, →PMCID, pages 773–794

   Clinical treatment is over 90% effective but only about 12% of entomophobes actively seeks help. […] The typical response of an entomophobe to either proximate or ultimate fears is to fight, flee, freeze, or foster (look after another with them, for example a parent for a child).

   2024 May 28, Vincent H. Resh, “Entomophobia”, in Chit Chat Club, pages 3, 4

   Synonyms: insectophobe