| In December 2001 I made a survey of 130 Thai students, shop workers, business people and professionals. They were asked to say whether they found certain creatures pretty, ugly/disgusting, frightening, good to eat, annoying or cute. Some of the reactions were pretty clear-cut: 94% thought butterflies pretty and scorpions frightening. other feelings were less black and white: although 50% thought moths were pretty, 19% thought they were ugly and 25% found them frightening. In fact more people found moths frightening than did spiders. Caterpillars also came out badly- 64% found them disgusting and 26% frightening. In fact the only insects which nobody found frightening were dragonflies and grasshoppers. The only creatures which nobody enjoyed eating were scorpions, cockroaches, dragonflies and spiders. Only dragonflies were not rated by anyone as ugly or disgusting and only butterflies and water beetles were not considered annoying. Cockroaches were the only bugs that nobody found lovable. (see table of results below) | Adding all the positive and negative
results together I have made the following awards:
Thaibug of 2001: butterflies (runners-up dragonflies and grasshoppers) Bad bug award: cockroaches (runners-up centipedes and scorpions) |
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| least favourite bug (specimen from Chiang Mai Computer Plaza) |  |