Do insects feel pain?

Bill Cornelius billcor at mcn.org
Fri May 27 13:10:03 EDT 2005


Hi:

this seems odd (naturally) but, what else is the evolutionary aversion 
mechanism for survival? (besides Gods Plan, of course) no pain - no gain.

Bill



Woody Woods wrote:

>Sorry to add this so late-- been tied up-- but, about insects often showing
>"little outward sign of distress" after serious injury:
>
>A few years back, someone in the lab where I did undergraduate research was
>measuring the pumping rate of the cibariopharyngal (nectar) pump in the moth
>M. sexta. To do this, he had to remove the heads of quite a few moths that
>were chilled before surgery. Since he needed only the heads, he set the rest
>aside. The headless moths, once they returned to room temperature, behaved
>as though they did not miss their heads much; they walked, shivered their
>wings to warms up, flew-- and, in one case, mated, though possibly only
>because they were in a small container.
>
>Yikes. 
>
>Woody 
>
>  
>
>>From: Kenelm W Philip <fnkwp at aurora.alaska.edu>
>>Reply-To: fnkwp at aurora.alaska.edu
>>Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 21:46:46 -0800 (AKDT)
>>To: LEPS-L at lists.yale.edu
>>Subject: Re: Do insects feel pain?
>>
>>
>>Doug Yanega appears to have answered this question--but it might
>>be worth adding the following quote from Snodgrass (Principles of
>>Insect Morphology, 1935): "Insects are not known to have any
>>specific organs for the perception of temperature, though they are
>>highly responsive to temperature changes, nor are they known to
>>have pain receptors or proprioceptors other than the terminal
>>endings of sensory nerve fibers on the skin, muscles, and other
>>tissues." (p. 512).
>>
>>As regards insects' ability to 'show very little outward sign of
>>distress' after serious injury, consider the male praying mantis
>>who continues to copulate after the female removes his head.
>>This has nothing to do with pain, of course--since one can't feel
>>pain without one's head--but it does indicate that insects work in
>>very different ways than vertebrates...
>>
>>Like Doug, I have had a situation in which my ability to feel pain
>>in a localized area was destroyed (for some time). This was the
>>consequence of removing a wisdom tooth--a nerve was scraped
>>resulting in my total inability to feel pain in part of my lower lip.
>>I could feel pressure, but not pain. (I referred to this as 'iatrogenic
>>leprosy'). Fortunately, this condition did not last more than a
>>few months, since I was continually biting my lip by accident.
>>A vague feeling of pressure was not enough to prompt me to
>>instantly stop a bite.
>>
>>Ken Philip
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
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