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

What happened

According to The Guardian’s source item, Don’t reach for the bug spray: scientists find insects may feel pain after crickets nurse sore antennae, The behavioural cue of ‘flexible self-protection’ is a way to establish whether an animal feels pain, scientists say Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast 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. Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading…

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Technology file for readers following technology, science, product policy, markets, infrastructure, and the public consequences of innovation. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-05-12T23:01:12+00:00.

What to watch

Open questions include whether primary sources issue follow-up statements, whether local or market impacts become clearer, and whether additional reporting changes the timeline or adds material context.

Source

Primary source: Don’t reach for the bug spray: scientists find insects may feel pain after crickets nurse sore antennae via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.