Mythology Entomological
By: Fabio Cupul

Throughout history, not all human cultures have viewed with disdain upon the insects, since some of them came to link with the divine, which no doubt gave an important place in its system of myths and legends. The role of insects in the worldview of the ancient cultures is highly symbolic, as it came to represent both religious values, and philosophical and even psychological. That is, the image display of an insect derived directly from a cultural meaning. For example, “Cora,” a town in western Mexico, that the soul of a dead body flies away material in the form of a bumblebee. For its part, Papalotl was the word used by the ancient Aztec civilization to name the butterflies. The Aztecs believed that these beautiful insects were fire related and were the reservoirs of the souls of soldiers killed in combat. The butterfly was also related to the supreme god Quetzalcoatl, who resurrected to life as a chrysalis. Today, the modern inhabitants of Mexico with Spanish continuing to use the word “kite” to refer to comets that children thrown into the air. The use of butterflies as symbols of resurrection, is quite widespread in human cultures. Most authors believe that this symbolism is related to the particular history of life as the insect, which involves an egg stage which gives rise to a caterpillar (life), it is transformed into a chrysalis (death) and which freedom emerges a completely different organism: the reborn butterfly (resurrection). On the other hand, an Australian Aboriginal legend tells how the tribe spent much of his time by storing food for winter. This good deed, caused them to eventually be transformed into bees and survive. In contrast, another tribe of the same locality, lazy and frivolous, not made any provision to survive the winter, so that its members were transformed into flies and died. This ancient story, portrays much of the widespread idea that humanity has on the fly as being obnoxious with negative connotations. Meanwhile, bees symbolize positive aspects around the world. For example, in Hinduism it is related to the love aspect of the god Krishna. Denote royalty in Egypt, but one of the most consistent and significant symbolism is that of sexuality and fertility, mainly for their participation in the processes of pollination of plants. One of the most appreciated of the bees is honey for sweetness same as was used by the Egyptians to flavor their food, although it was also a basic ingredient in the process of mummification of the dead. The Babylonians and Sumerians offerings of honey to their gods in religious ceremonies. Curiously, the former German Christians believed that bees were created by God to provide the wax used in the manufacture of the sails of their churches.The insects are beneficial and transcendental beings in the functioning of biological cycles, since a large variety of them are important agents in the pollination of plants, some others provide products of commercial value or are a source of food for birds, fish and even man himself. In addition, parasites or predators to other insects, helping to keep them under control.Certain species, being scavengers, they act as scavengers preventing infectious outbreaks. There is no doubt that the conduct described above was admired by the ancient Chinese culture, as some representatives of this tiny world, like ants, were and remain a symbol of patriotism, virtue, self-interest, order and bonded indefatigable. Such was the admiration that had some people by the ants, the native Hopi, the Southwest, they believed that the first settlers were people of the world shaped ant. For the Nahua people in western Mexico, the ants are still part of their agricultural cycles, and to ensure that the rains of the season, put ears on the nests to attract it. By contrast, some West African communities in the nests are home to demons.