Highlights•Neural/behavioural indicators of emotional components of pain in insects are
unknown.•I review four lines of evidence for pain experience in insects.•Robots show more …

The entomology literature has historically suggested insects cannot feel pain, leading to
their exclusion from ethical debates and animal welfare legislation. However, there may be …

Whether insects (Insecta) have the subjective experience of pain is difficult to answer.
Recent work in humans demonstrated that the experience of pain occurs due to the …

Is it time for insect researchers to consider their subjects’ welfare? | PLOS Biology Skip to main
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When discussing insect welfare, the distinction is often made between nociception and pain,
the first being a reflex response, while the second refers to a negative emotion perceived by …

Modulation of nociception allows animals to optimize chances of survival by adapting their
behaviour in different contexts. In mammals, this is executed by neurons from the brain and …

Simple Summary Pain is an unpleasant emotional state that produces behavioural changes
to minimize future tissue damage and promote recovery and survival. These behavioural …

Highlights•Assessing pain in animals is problematic without a distinct definition.•We provide
clear criteria for animal pain that can be used to evaluate if pain occurs.•The empirical …

We argue that pain is not needed to protect the body from damage unless the organism is
able to make free choices in action selection. Then pain (including its affective and …

The recent interest in using insects as food and feed is based on their capacity to be a
sustainable alternative to other protein sources. When farmed as mini livestock, the question …