Personally it started within early elementary school with me reading about them. Seeing all the cool leaf insects and nice stuff, I kind of put down the book (I did the same with fish and stuff) and basically told myself the stereotype that all insects live short lives. Fast forward to my special education teacher capturing a scorpion and putting it in a cracker jar. I was amazed. 5th grade I saw a group of students look at a mantis. Flash forward to 7th grade, I found a mantis in my yard. Now a few years later, it has blossomed.