Why insects are more sensitive than they seem?

– Danuta Jędrusiak
The thought that insects have feelings was deemed absurd but nowadays modern scientific
experiments confirm an opposite thesis. The article Why insects are more sensitive than they
seem presents those scientific discoveries which provide comprehensive evidence that in fact, insects
can experience a wide range of feelings. The first step in a pathway to an acceptance of this statement
is based on acknowledging an evolutionary imperative. To better explain this argument author of the
article – Zaria Gorvett - describes the insects' anatomy. The most crucial is an analysis of their brains
which have a similar pattern as vertebrates. Insects even have an analogical region to the cortex which
is responsible for intelligence and consciousness. As suggested in the article - the parallel neural
setups could signify shared cognitive abilities, which means that insects could have the intellectual
capacity for emotion. In addition to that emotions would be reasonable in terms of their usefulness –
emotions are motivating so they could be a force that makes surviving easier. 
Slowly academic world recognized that insects have “emotional primitives” such as hunger and sex
drive but which weren’t regarded as emotions. Discovering emotional primitives was possible because
an experiment carried out by Waddell (and many similar studies) demonstrated that flies can feel
hunger. Taking it one step further Wright aimed to prove that bees mood can be affected and therefore
it exists. He confirmed that bees behaviour changes according to recent events in their life, the
researcher even suggests that bees suspecting an unpleasant stimulus can become cynical. He also
noticed a shift in the level of dopamine and serotonin (both are thought to be involved in reward
pathways). Wrights’ experiment confirmed that a chemical reaction that is caused by a stimulus is
similar to the one found in other animals. 
The next controversy around the issue of insects feeling is the way (or lack of it) in which they
manifest emotion. As Darwin noted animals communicate in a way somewhat similar, he also
observed that such communication via noise can be conducted even without a voice box. Insects can
as well "voicing" their emotion without people noticing and understanding them. Gorvett refers to one
instance when such understanding is possible – a phenomenon that occurs when bees hives are being
raided by a murderous species of wasps. Bees when being confronted by a danger scream in a way that
is a frantic version of their usual buzz which suggests that they feel fear at that moment. 
The problem with recognising insects as sentient is the uncomfortable truth – if they in fact can feel
pain, as studies such as the experiment carried by Neely indicate, we as humankind bring horrendous
pain to them. Every year an unthinkable number of insects is being killed and could potentially feel
pain at that moment. The article ends with this pessimistic suggestion - humans don’t recognise insects
emotions because it could be overwhelming.