[susie123]

I'm surprised you managed to take that pic of your bedroom spider the other day Margaret - didn't realise you and Dianne were such wusses! You'd never make a bee keeper then (we had a few hives in our garden when we lived in the country doing our Good Life thing).

Seriously, it's strange how certain things can get people so worked up isn't it. For my part I love the butterflies and moths and I'll never forget how after I dug my pond in my country garden and had literally just finished filling it with water, as I was sitting there a huge dragonfly turned up from out of nowhere. I like seeing the bugs in the veg garden as well, and the caterpillars. The one thing thing I'm not keen on is worms, never liked them as a child when others were playing with them in the mud.

Yes, I've had my brushes with the insect world, had a horsefly bite on my eyelid once, and earlier this year a lovely set of fleabites on my lower legs even though my cat had been dead for several months! The piece de resistance was in Italy a few years ago, we were camping in our motorhome between a freshwater lagoon and the sea and the campsite was over run with mosquitoes. Actually I escaped unscathed but Richard the silly sod refused to put any insect repellent on and I think he lived to regret it... see attached pic which was taken several days later. Once bitten twice shy I hope.

After all that I wouldn't avoid insects, the vast majority will do you no harm at all and in my view are part of Nature red in tooth and claw... And I'm loving Dave's pics - and Frank's cheeky slug above! or is it a snail...