Robert Raven, an arachnologist at the Queensland Museum in Australia, has spent over 40 years working with and studying spiders. Surprisingly, he does not love spiders; they make his skin crawl and give him cold sweats. Raven's fear of spiders began with his father, who was a mining engineer and often encountered spiders in caves. Despite his fear, Raven chose to face it and delve into the study of spiders.
The natural world is filled with creatures that inspire fear and disgust in most people, but some scientists find fascination in these creatures. For instance, entomologist Ed Baker of the University of York and the Natural History Museum in the UK loves studying cockroaches. Baker explains that there are around 4,000 known species of cockroach, but only about 40 are pests.
Entomologist Bryan Lessard of Australia's CSIRO studies flies, maggots, and mosquitoes. Lessard's entry into entomology was through forensic entomology, using insects to solve crimes. He has described and named 50 species of flies that are new to science.
Despite initial aversions, these scientists have been able to overcome their fears and misconceptions through curiosity and fascination. Knowledge and understanding can lessen prejudices towards creatures that are generally considered repellent. For example, cockroaches are actually quite clean animals, and flies play a crucial role as pollinators.
Robert Raven, despite his fear of spiders, finds joy in overcoming his phobia and connecting with people about spiders. He enjoys learning about different spider behaviors and is currently researching a tiny Australian spider that uses leaves with holes as a trapdoor for hunting insects.