insect, bug, temper
虫 centers on small crawling or creeping creatures: insects and bugs. The temper sense is a figurative extension, likening a person's irritable mood to a bug that bothers them.
虫 is a pictograph of a snake or worm-like creature, with the modern form retaining a stylized body and head shape.
The shape suggests a small creature with a rounded head and a curling body. Picture a bug crawling along: 虫 is an insect.
For チュウ, imagine a bug chewing on a leaf: chew -> チュウ, and the bug is an insect.
insect; bug; cricket; moth
insect; bug
parasite
harmful insect; noxious insect; pest; vermin
tooth decay; decayed tooth; dental cavity; dental caries
larva; grub; maggot
coward; weakling; scaredy cat; wimp; sissy
reptiles
killing insects or pests
rhinoceros beetle (esp. the Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Trypoxylus dichotomus)
crybaby; blubberer
hairy caterpillar; woolly bear
imago; adult (insect)
hornworm (caterpillar of a hawk moth); (hairless) caterpillar
athlete's foot
beetle
worm; insect
insecticide; insect repellent
worm-eaten; moth-eaten
tardigrade; water bear