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Don’t reach for the bug spray: scientists find insects may feel pain after crickets nurse sore antennae (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 5 months ago by to c/science@lemmy.world
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The behavioural cue of ‘flexible self-protection’ is a way to establish whether an animal feels pain, scientists say

Crickets that received the hot probe “overwhelmingly” directed their attention to the affected antenna – they groomed it more frequently, and tended to it over a longer period of time, he says. “They weren’t just agitated and flustered. They were directing their attention to the actual antennae that was hit with this hot probe.”

Link to the paper

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[–] 11 points 5 months ago* (5 children)

Pops and cracks from a stressed plant doesn't mean a physical sensation of pain is occurring.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago*

    It depends on the definition:

    a basic bodily sensation that is induced by a noxious stimulus, is received by naked nerve endings, is associated with actual or potential tissue damage, is (such as pricking, throbbing, or aching), and typically leads to evasive action

    It does fit this definition. The only part that arguably doesn't fit is the "characterized by physical discomfort" part, but that's characterized by, not defined by. It isn't necessarily required, and I can see an argument to say it's true for many plants too.

    To say it's definitely not pain I think is far too strong a belief. I can go either way on it. I would lean towards calling it pain, but it's far from clear.

    As you said, this is a scientific community. One of the most important things to science is being skeptical of our biases and pre-existing ideas. Claiming they don't feel pain for certain is not that.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    A stressed human screaming doesn’t mean a physical sensation of pain is occurring

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  • [–] 13 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    Humans have nervous systems. Plants do not.

    This is a science community. Do you have evidence that plants have a way to transmit or process pain signals? Or are you anthropomorphizing a plant’s reaction to stimuli?

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  • [+] -6 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    So, Mr science, where’s your proof that only fleshy nerves can transmit pain?

    Because it wasn’t long ago, and there’s still plenty people, who think that animals can’t feel pain. Because they’re not human. Of course that’s mostly selfserving reasoning to justify them eating meat and/or treating animals like shit.

    Now you’re claiming effectively the same, but now because there’s no nerves similar to animals. Coincidentally, insects appear to feel pain too: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/13/insects-feel-pain-research

    They don’t have animal nerves either. Is this bullshit too?

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  • [–] 11 points 5 months ago*

    So, you don’t have evidence of plants feeling pain. You have a link to the same article that’s on the top of the page we’re on, and a claim that insects don’t have “animal nerves,” whatever that means.

    Insects absolutely have a nervous system comparable in design to those of other animals, albeit with ganglia as their brains. They don’t have the processing power of animals like mammals, but that isn’t vital for interpreting pain.

    So again, do you have evidence that plants can transmit or process pain signals? It would be a revolutionary discovery if so.

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