creepy crawlies

I used to think that if you pulled the antenna off of ants they could not talk to one another.

Karl

When I was in the 8th grade we moved into a house that had camel crickets in the basement and my new friend next door told me that they were poisonous. To this day, though I know they aren't something in the back of my mind tells be to "be careful of the dreaded camel criket.

Ken Stanford

I used to believe, and I think much of the basis of this belief was fed through the media, that the world would end when we were all attacked by killer bees from Mexico and South America. I used to look out the window and worry day and night that we were going to be attacked. It got so bad that I had to throw away a toy stuffed bee I had been given by a relative.

Eric Lindstrom

When we were younger me and my brother used to rip the wings off greenfly. One time to stop us from torturing one my mum told us we should look after him and his name was Peter. For years we believed that all greenfly were called 'Peter'.

Mich

I grew up in the West Indies, and we had tarantulas in the neighbourhood. I was terrified of them, and worried that I would have one in my room one night. I asked my father what they sounded like, and he said "like someone snoring.' I shared my room with my brother. Who snored. I didn't sleep for five years.

Anon

Someone told me, as a child, that a hair, once swallowed, turned into a worm.
This was apparently to keep me from putting my long hair into my mouth:-)

BJ

I used to think that moths spent the entire day flying towards the Sun, that's why they weren't seen in the day. Then at night, when the Sun went down, they flew back towards the Earth and that's why they were all gathered around people's security lights & stuff. To be honest I'm still not entirely convinced that that isn't actually the case. I'm 26 years old.

Rob G

When I was a kid my dad ground up fruit flies to get at their imaginal discs, which were involved with development of the legs and wings in the adults. I tried to get him to explain this once, and ended up convinced that they were "imaginary" discs (I asked what they looked like, and he said you couldn't see them). For years I couldn't understand the point of grinding them up.

Heather

When I was little I was always told not to step on any spiders,bugs were okay but not spiders.If you did it would rain the next day,an odd childhood belief I had but I am suprised that children today,and from different parts of the world believe this myth as well.

Gary Little

My brother told his two little girls that the racing snails in the Guinness adverts were really valuable, and that if they ever found any racing snails in the garden they should put them in their pockets and bring them to him so that he could make lots of money. I dread to think of the state of their coat pockets...

Vicky

My friends and I all used to believe that any flying insect with any red colouring was a "blood sucker" and you weren't to let it land on you or it would suck your blood and you would die. Ladybirds were not blood suckers!

Anon