Why were killer insects so popular in sci-fi?

I loved cheesy horror/sci-fi movies as a kid, everything from The Blob to The Thing. But what always freaked me out were the movies about bugs. I remember watching the 1977 film Ants, about swarming, poisonous ants, and being terrified there were ants crawling under my bed. I’d have to check carefully every night, and still […]