Don’t reach for the bug spray: scientists find insects may feel pain after crickets nurse sore antenna

The behavioural cue of ‘flexible self-protection’ is a way to establish whether an animal feels pain, scientists saySign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDo insects feel pain? Crickets certainly seem to, according to new research which finds they stroke and groom a sore antenna in much the same way as a dog nurses its hurt paw.Associate Prof Thomas White, an entomologist from the University of Sydney, said the experience of pain was a “longer, drawn-out, ouchy feeling”, that differed from a hardwired nerve response.Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading…

The behavioural cue of ‘flexible self-protection’ is a way to establish whether an animal feels pain, scientists saySign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDo insects feel pain? Crickets certainly seem to, according to new research which finds they…

The behavioural cue of ‘flexible self-protection’ is a way to establish whether an animal feels pain, scientists saySign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDo insects feel pain? Crickets certainly seem to, according to new research which finds they stroke and groom a sore antenna in much the same way as a dog nurses its hurt paw.Associate Prof Thomas White, an entomologist from the University of Sydney, said the…