daf bit: Shabbat 106

Our rabbis taught: one who catches locusts, gnats, hornets, or (another kind of insect that is unclear) on Shabbat is culpable; this is the view of Rabbi Meir. But the sages rule: if that species is hunted one is liable; if that species is not hunted one is not liable. It was taught in a baraita (a teaching contemporary with the mishna) that one who catches locusts at the time of dew is not liable, but one who catches them at mid-day is. (Why? Rashi comments here that they are sleepy early in the morning so they don't require special effort to catch.) Eleazar b. Mahabai (who?) said: if they advance in thick swarms he is not culpable. (106b)

The reference to "hunting" seems to be about whether the insect in question is useful. Locusts (of the right type) could be eaten, but nobody has any use for a gnat. This doesn't appear to be about capturing insects to get them to stop bothering you. The status of catching fireflies for entertainment is unclear to me. (Though that tends to be done by children who are not yet old enough to be obligated in mitzvot...)

so true!

( comic )

The trick, of course, is figuring out how you get to be the guy with the lizard, without all the rest of it, while, y'know, keeping a roof over one's head, food on the table, and so on.