Naked Science Forum

General Science => General Science => Topic started by: Karsten on 23/08/2009 19:17:10

Title: Do insects recover from injuries?
Post by: Karsten on 23/08/2009 19:17:10

I often feel bad when I accidentally injure an insect. Do they recover from e.g. a "broken" leg? To what extent can their bodies heal?

And do they feel pain?

And is it worth worrying about this? (But that is not a scientific question).

Title: Do insects recover from injuries?
Post by: DrChemistry on 23/08/2009 19:54:59

To what extent insects can heal I am not entirely sure of. I do know that some insects are capable of recovering over time if they get the chance. By "getting the chance" I mean that they might die by the effects of the wounds if not healed fast enough. But my knowledge in that area is very limited.

In human we have a complex nerve system. One species of a nerve receptor is called a nociceptor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nociceptor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nociceptor)). This enable us to percieve pain. Insects on the other hand do not have nocicepeptors. They are capable of feeling, but feeling pain as we know it is not one of them as far as I am aware of.

Worrying about insects is up to you, although many would probably support the idea of worrying about them too, as we do have to share this wonderful planet [:)]

Title: Do insects recover from injuries?
Post by: JnA on 24/08/2009 02:21:34

My instinct would be that any insect not able to get away fast enough is doomed for predation. Though I shouldn't worry about harming one.. insects have been around for a long long time and will probably out live humans. They certainly outnumber us.