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Hes deathly afraid of any animal or bug big or small. When I was little I loved them. I dont want to force it on him, just want him to understand they are not going to hurt em..
Kids do tend to pick up strange fears. When I was young I had a phobia of gorillas for years. I was convinced there was one under my crib, and one on top of the hill where my baby sitter lived, and that if I wasn't careful they would come and get me.
....Not sure what would happen after that. Probably force feed me bananas and slowly transform me into one of their own...
A good friend of mine went through the same thing with his own son a couple of years ago (when his own son was about the same age as yours, as it happens). His approach was one of acclimatisation. He showed his son animals at a distance and kept seeing what his son was prepared to do, and what would scare him. Even being gentle, he had loads of moments where his son went from smiling to suddenly fearful (and occasionally running away screaming). Michael is six next month and it's not a problem any more.
I don't know if this is relevant but Michael also started improving when my friend no longer kept cats. I don't think that's relevant because Michael seemed to like the cats and has always liked the fish my friend keeps.
I was terrified of walking over any type of grate or manhole that I knew was hallow underneath. I would go backwards around the block to avoid walking over even the smallest drain.
Kids pick strange stuff to be scared of, most likely he will grow out of it when he gets old enough to develop a more rational side!
Toddlers pick up obscure fears. It's a normal part of their development. When my wife was a child she had a fear of swallowing nails..even the ones she knew fastened the floorboards in her home...they almost always go away with time.