Bugs and insects were my first obsession. from age 3 until about 12. I *love* bugs. I never really had a problem with spiders until about 12, either. I had *all* kinds of bugs as pets. from caterpillars, to lady bugs, to a black widow named charlotte. Millipedes, and silk worms, a worm farm, even a pill bug farm made out of a huge peanutbutter container when I was three. That lasted years. probably till i was 10, as I remember.
I have never seen a lightening bug.