Entomology

How To Get Over A Fear Of Spiders

The fear of spiders is one of the most common phobias in the world. In Western countries, arachnophobia is something that more than 55% of respondents in a recent survey said they have. While it is a mild issue for some people, for others the fear of spiders can be extremely hard to deal with and affect daily activities.

If you are someone that has a fear of spiders, there are ways that you can overcome your fear and no longer have the feelings of anxiety or stress when around spiders. No matter how severe your fear of spiders are, here is what you need to know about getting over arachnophobia:

The Importance Of Progressive Exposure

When you are afraid of spiders, one of the most effective ways of overcoming your fear is through progressive exposure. The concept of progressive exposure is simple: you begin by becoming exposed to your fear slowly over time. The way this works for the fear of spiders is you start out with basic exposure. This can be as simple as looking at pictures of spiders.

Over time, you increase this amount of exposure. From looking at pictures of spiders, you move to watching a video of spiders. The next step in a classic exposure hierarchy will be to hold a toy spider.

A Simple Way To Get Close To A Real Spider

Once you have had simple exposure to spiders, it is very important that you are exposed to the real thing in some capacity. While picking up any type of spider may still be a long ways away, there is a very simple way to get close to a real spider without any risk: acrylic preserved spiders.

You can purchase spiders that are preserved in acrylic that are used as paperweights so you may handle a spider that is not alive but looks completely realistic. By become more familiar with spiders and handling a real (but dead) spider, it is a very important step in overcoming your fear of spiders.

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Do Butterflies Pollinate Flowers?

For a vast majority of plants in the world today, pollination is required to produce fruit and reproduce. Without pollination, new plants would not be able to grow and entire plant species could die out. So how does this pollination occur? For a lot of plants in the world, it is done by insects. The most famous pollinator in the world is the bee but not far behind the bee are the many varieties of butterflies. Here is what you need to about butterflies and their role in pollination:

While Not As Effective As Bees, Butterflies Pollinate Many Flowers

The reason bees are so effective and useful as pollinators is that their body is close to the ground and very wide. Their physical characteristics also make it extremely easy to collect pollen across their entire body and transport it between flowers. But that does not mean bees are the only pollinators. With their long legs and different body structure, butterflies are attracted to different types of flowers and are not as efficient at pollinating flowers, but they still pollinate many different plant species. With the current crisis with the world bee population, the role butterflies play in pollination is becoming more significant.

Some Flowers Are Exclusively Pollinated By Butterflies

While the shape of a butterfly’s body prevents it from pollinating some plants as well as other insects, they have certain characteristics that make them perfect for some flowers. One such flower is the firecracker plant. The flowers of this plant are very slender and tubular and hang at a variety of angles. Because of this, most insects are unable to maneuver to the plant and cannot reach inside its petals. The orange barred sulfur butterfly, on the other hand, is perfectly designed to reach inside the flower. Ultimately the orange barred sulfur butterfly will get pollen on its legs and body that is then transported to other flowers. Without the pollination from butterflies, this plant—along with many others—may not exist today.

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The Importance Of Butterflies In Our Ecosystem

In every continent across the world other than Antarctica, you will find butterflies fluttering around. Across the globe, there are over 17,000 different species of butterflies in a wide array of beautiful colors, shapes, and sizes. Not only are these iconic insects beautiful to look at, they are extremely important part of our ecosystem as well. Here are some of the critical roles that butterflies play in our ecosystem and why their survival is vital:

Butterflies and Pollination

Today, over 90 percent of all plants need a pollinator to move pollen from a male plant to a female plant in order to set seeds. The main workforce that takes care of this process is composed of insects. With the world bee population in disarray, much of this crucial pollination is left to butterflies. Without butterflies, many plants would not be pollinated which would result in less plant life.

Due to the way butterflies pollinate plants, it also helps spur cross pollination which can lead to plant diversity. This means plants will be more resilient, increasing their chances of long-term survival in nature.

Pest Control

In addition to pollinating plants, many species of butterflies are also a form of natural pest control which keeps unwanted bugs away from certain plants, allowing them to flourish without the need for chemical insecticides.

Members Of The Food Chain

Butterflies are also extremely important to the food chain. They are the source of food for many animals, birds in particular. Without butterflies, these animals would lose a significant portion of their diet. In turn, animals that they are food for would also lose their natural food source. Ultimately the loss of butterflies could result in the entire collapse of certain ecosystems just based on their use as a food source.