Don’t reach for the bug spray: crickets stroke a sore antenna, as cues suggest insects feel pain

The behavioural cue of ‘flexible self-protection’ is a way to establish whether an animal feels pain, scientists say

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Do 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.

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