Insects

Dreaming about a swarm of insects

What does it mean to dream about a swarm of insects?

Quantity is the unit in insect reports, and the swarm is the purest version of it. Dreamers describe arrival and volume, and almost never describe an individual creature.

That is the finding worth holding onto. Every other animal in this file is reported as a thing; insects are reported as an amount. The distress scales with number rather than with anything the insects do, and dreamers frequently report no bite, no sting and no injury at all.

The emotion is disgust with a component of helplessness, which is a different combination from fear. Fear produces flight. This produces recoil, and dreamers commonly report freezing or covering themselves rather than running.

Where this reads well

Rare. Beekeepers and entomologists report insect dreams without the disgust, which is a useful demonstration that the reaction is learned rather than inherent.

Where it is harder

The volume is what persists. Dreamers describe being unable to convey how many there were, which is characteristic of these reports.

Worth asking yourself

Did any of them actually do anything? Was I trying to escape or to cover myself? How many, if that can even be said?

Dream interpretation is subjective. Nothing here is a diagnosis, a prediction, or medical advice.

Sources and reviewed references

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Other insects dreams