Blathers, the museum curator in Animal Crossing, strongly dislikes bugs primarily due to a traumatic childhood experience. As a young owl, a mantis egg case hatched on his desk, releasing thousands of mantises that swarmed around him.
The Traumatic Childhood Incident
Blathers' aversion to insects stems from a deeply unsettling event during his youth. One day, a mantis egg case, unbeknownst to him, hatched directly on his desk. This led to an overwhelming swarm of countless mantises emerging and flying all around the young Blathers.
Imagine being suddenly enveloped by a cloud of thousands of insects; such an experience would be distressing for anyone, let alone a small owl. This specific incident instilled in him a profound and lasting fear, which explains his characteristic shuddering and discomfort whenever a player donates an insect to the museum. Despite his scientific curiosity and dedication to the museum's collection, he cannot overcome the visceral dread associated with these creatures.
