To bee or not to bee: whether 'tis nobler to revere or to revile those six-legged creatures during one's leisure

By incorporating the concept of speciesism into a multi-disciplinary critical approach to animalhuman studies in leisure, I provide an overview of anthropomorphism and entomophobia and suggest how these concepts limit our understanding of humaninsect encounters. The concentric circles of leisure illustrate how humaninsect encounters in rural and urban areas are often influenced by our senses, spatial cues, socio-cultural forces and our perceived need for safety and comfort. In his study of the pluralistic aspects of environmental values, Norton (2000) suggested that we should be cautious in the dichotomy of the opposites and seek to find new approaches that consider the multitude of perspectives, the nuances and inconsistencies that make up human values of nature. Such an approach requires challenging the institutionalised speciesism woven into many aspects of our recreational activities, critiquing the philosophical underpinnings of anthropomorphism and entomophobia, and addressing inter and intra species dynamics throughout various leisure terrains (i.e. indoor/outdoor, urban/rural and local/global) and illustrating how such movements creates interactions that are fluid, complex, unsettling and rewarding. The potential contributions of leisure to this emerging field are outlined in the conclusion.