I’ve long been kinda fond of other living things, and so I always tried to brush off insects when they landed on me, for fear of harming them.

Beetles in particular have very grippy feet and they generally hunkered down when I brushed at them. When I then tried to lift them off, they would often just grab on harder, until I feared that I would crush them or break their legs if I pulled hard enough.

So I figured if they wanted to walk around on me, I might as well let them, especially considering there’s nary a beetle out there that’s dangerous to live humans. This policy gradually expanded to include the bulk of insects, so I have had a lot of beetles and other insects walking on me in my time.

While the little grippy paws - almost like a very gentle clasp - of beetles are my favorites, I appreciate the others as well. While they’re not strictly speaking insects, I appreciate the feathery touch of daddy long-legs. They’re so light it’s hard to tell whether they’re a light breeze or an actual spider. However, since several of the other spiders where I grew up were often at least decently damaging, I haven’t really given spiders the benefit of the doubt as much.

Ants are nice as well, though they’re the most finicky of flesh travelers. The big black ones from childhood tend to be the most mellow, but lots of them tend towards reflexive biting.

Bees and wasps are fun because of the risk factor. I’ve spent a few long minutes with a bee crawling over my popsicle-stained mouth. The feel of bee feet on my lips is something I will never forget.

Despite it being my totem animal, I haven’t actually had the experience of having cockroaches crawling on me; they tend to be too skittish. I keep meaning to raise them but have yet to be in a context where the humans around me are kosher with that. When I do, I’ll be sure to let y’all know.