MOTEPHOBIA (MOTH PHOBIA): SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES - ECONOMÍA - 2025

The motefobia is an irrational fear, persistent and I unwarranted to moths. Its erratic and unpredictable flight, its size, the colors of its wings, the hair that some species have or the unpleasant touch that feels when touching them, are some of the reasons that those who suffer this aversion to this lepidoptera fear most.

Investigating, we found in a well-known portal, where users tell about the fatal outcomes they have experienced, the following anonymously: “Today, and always, I have a phobia of moths (the big ones). I have had to stay locked in my room, since I have two hovering in the kitchen and in the hall. I haven't eaten and my parents don't answer the phone. I don't know if I'll get out of here ”.

This is a clear example of a person who suffers from a true phobia (not disgusted) by this flying insect, where the girl is affected by her daily tasks (such as eating in this case) and is unable to face her fear despite that you can run out of lunch or dinner.

Although the phobia is at least curious, what most caught my attention were the comments-responses of other users to the girl's publication, where they played down the fact or simply made fun of it.

"How can you be so stupid… It's amazing…"

"Does it fit through your mouth? It is poisonous? Then you don't have to worry. "

"You must be my old roommate who every time a moth entered the room, what a pain in the ass xD".

"Your parents (who know you well) will be sick of you calling them for bullshit like this."

"The day you have to call them about something really important, they will pass on you.."

As you can see, with certain phobias, society does not give the same importance as if they would give more common ones such as claustrophobia, aerophobia or school phobia.

Therefore, in this article we are going to develop the problem caused by this disorder so that both the victims and the rest of the world can understand the consequences, causes, and possible treatments.

Characteristics of motephobia

Motephobia is a type of specific phobia based on extreme repulsion or fear towards moths and other similar butterflies. Although a high percentage of readers are disgusted by moths, in the case of motephobia the fear is unusual and not justified.

The structure of the animal, the hair that some species have, the size, their eyes and the way they look, the touch and especially the unpredictable and erratic flight are the observations that most stand out those who suffer from this disorder.

This fear is also called lepidopterophobia, which derives from the order of the Lepidopteran insects, which includes moths, butterflies, sphinxes or peacocks.

In turn, it is a sub-phobia that is included within zoophobia, an irrational fear of animals. Entomophobia or arachnophobia are other examples of specific phobias included in this group.

Symptoms

Depending on the degree of panic, people with motephobia will experience one type of symptoms or others, varying their severity according to the characteristics of the individual (mental state and level of fear).

The most prominent and most common are:

• Panic attacks
• High heart rate
• Sickness
• Dizziness
• Tingling sensation
• Difficulty breathing
• Feeling of suffocation
• Difficulty speaking and thinking clearly
• Numbness
• Excessive sweating
• Shaking chills
• Chest pain
• Lost of control
• Instant and temporary paralysis
• Inability to distinguish between what is real and what is not
• Fear
• Anxiety

Causes

In this section, the same happens as with the symptoms, since depending on the individual, the reasons for having a panic of moths vary. Keep in mind that phobias can develop without any specific cause or that, on the contrary, it may appear at a specific time in your life. No one is safe from being able to suffer a phobia of anything at any time.

Why? Normally because phobias develop as a result of trauma, something to which you are constantly exposed by the dangers of life.

In any case, people often present these traumatic events during childhood, leading to a fear of moths (which is the case that concerns us) for life.

Keep in mind that in the first years of a person, they experiment without any kind of fear or shame and one of the favorite activities of children is playing with insects. If in one of those days in which the child is dedicated to bothering the moth, it could respond by creating panic in the infant and marking it for life.

Another cause has more to do with induction. If a person had an allergic reaction with a moth or butterfly, this will trigger a new traumatic event that can hardly be forgotten. Outcome? They will avoid the moth at all costs for fear of suffering an allergic reaction like the one experienced previously.

On the other hand, there was a sociological theory that associated phobia with femininity. Effeminate women and men were more likely to suffer from this disorder simply because they did not have enough courage to face the insect. Of course, this theory is not currently under consideration within the scientific community.

Treatment

Once we are sure that the panic that an individual suffers towards moths is a phobia that conditions his life, the next step will be to seek professional treatment to try to deal with this problem. Some of the most common techniques among psychologists who treat these fears are:

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Its basis is the restructuring of negative thinking about what one is afraid of. In this case, thoughts, emotions and behaviors towards the moths will be modified through biofeedback, tolerance to distress or relaxation techniques.

Exposure therapy

This sensitization technique consists of gradually exposing the affected person to their fear. The aim is for you to tolerate the presence of the moths and become familiar with them. It takes a lot of perseverance, but if done well it will help the patient learn to control their fears.

Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP)

This technique consists of trying to get to the root of the fear. Once discovered, through a combination of psychotherapy, personal development and communication, an attempt will be made to modify the behaviors or abilities of the affected person so that this irrational fear leads to calm and relaxation.

Medicines

It is rare that this option is shipped. It is only recommended in extreme cases where the patient suffers from anxiety, has severe reactions, or suffers from severe panic attacks.

With antidepressants, anxiolytics or anticonvulsants it is intended to calm the feeling of danger in the individual, but it is exposed to the possible side effects of the intake of these drugs.

Curiosities

There is a community called I Hate Butteflies that brings together all those people who fear, hate or find moths scary and of course those individuals who have motephobia. With their initiative, they encourage their users to share their traumas, terrible stories and other unpleasant events with the lepidopterans.

Australian actress Nicole Kidman suffers from motephobia. In the occasional interview, she confessed that her fear conditioned her so much that if she saw one of these bugs outside she was unable to leave the house.

In the United States, 40% of phobias come from the fear of 'bugs', which comes to mean bugs. The moths occupy the first positions along with other insects such as spiders, cockroaches, grasshoppers or scorpions.

Not all cultures have panic or disgust towards moths. In certain parts of Australia, this insect is part of the Aboriginal diet. Specifically the infused Agrotis.

The attacus atlas is the largest lepidopteran in the world. The wingspan in some cases reaches 30 cm. It lives in China, Southeast Asia and the Malay archipelago.