NY Post: Men more likely than women to be scared of bugs
UC biologist Joshua Benoit talks about a surprising poll that found Americans don't know very much about common insects
The New York Post turned to University of Cincinnati biologist Joshua Benoit to explain why a new poll shows Americans simply don't know much about common bugs.
Procter & Gamble Co's. pest-control product Zevo surveyed 2,000 Americans about insects. Just one in three respondents could correctly identify a picture of a wasp. Many confused it with a honeybee.
Joshua Benoit in his lab. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative Services
Just half of men (53%) and even fewer women (43%) correctly identified a tick. And those same percentages correctly identified "entomology" as the study of insects.
The survey found that far more men than women reported being "very scared" of bugs (32% of men compared to just 22% of women).
Despite the mediocre scores, more than half of respondents considered themselves "very knowledgeable" about insects. (Dunning-Kruger effect, perhaps?)
Benoit, an assistant professor of biological sciences in UC's McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, studies ticks, mosquitoes, cockroaches and other insects and arthropods in his lab. He has conducted research in places as remote as Antarctica, home to a bizarre wingless fly.
Benoit helped conduct biological tests for Zevo products in his lab.
"Some insect pests can be highly prolific under favorable conditions," Benoit told the Post.
The good news, Benoit said, is most insects don't want to cohabitate with people.
"Few people realize that the indoor biome is a specific habitat that only certain insects can tolerate," he said.
Featured image at top: A vial of mosquitoes in UC professor Joshua Benoit's lab. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Creative Services
UC assistant professor Joshua Benoit has studied insects as far away as Antarctica. Photo/Provided
Related Stories
UC awarded nearly $1 million to help fight infant obesity spike
December 12, 2025
University of Cincinnati researcher Cathy Stough spoke with Spectrum News1 about a nearly $1 million National Institutes of Health grant awarded to UC to help prevent infant obesity through early nutrition support and family-based interventions.
Celebrating the newest Bearcats on Decision Day
December 11, 2025
The University of Cincinnati admits its newest Bearcats for Fall 2026. Interest in the university is at an all-time high with more than 35,000 applicants for admission. Decision Day was also a time to celebrate 10 new Marian Spencer Scholarship recipients.
UC alumna named a 2026 Marshall Scholar
December 10, 2025
The British Government announced the 43 American students who will receive Marshall Scholarships for 2026, including UC alumna Taylor Allgood. The new recipients will begin their graduate studies at leading universities in the United Kingdom next September.