@alex (It seems to me that most people who don't like insects *do* like butterflies and bumblebees.
Sort of like how most people who don't like reptiles do like tortoises and Igor.)
@datarama When my wife showed her brother’s girlfriend the pictures we took of caterpillars and butterflies, happily pointing out the little feet there, the silk rope here, the hairs on the back there – but she gave an awkward grin and said she didn’t like insects. Including butterflies. I thought that was very surprising.
@alex I know someone who is deeply phobic of *frogs*, of all animals!
(I'm not kidding about including Igor in the observation above - I've seen people go "EEEEEW, SNAKE!" when they first see him, and then something like five minutes later they act like he has morphed into a puppy or something. :) )
@alex (I believe - aside, of course, from him being the bestest boy in all the world - that this is because blue-tongue skinks don't usually trigger the specific things people don't like about lizards. Their stocky, sausage-like build, the slightly ridiculous-looking tiny legs, and *especially* the almost human-looking eyes with visible whites, where you can very clearly follow their gaze. They don't have the abrupt, "jerky" movement patterns common to lizards, but usually have a more calm, predictable and continuous kind of movement.
Also, Igor specifically has a gentle and friendly temperament even for his famously laid-back species. :) )