Yes, at least if we understand pain as physical discomfort caused by environmental factors. “Insects have nerve endings similar to the ones we humans have. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that they have some kind of sensory perception equivalent to what we call pain. In addition, the animal is capable of learning how to avoid, moving away from something that causes it discomfort”, says physiologist Gilberto Xavier, from USP. It’s just not possible to say that this pain is the same as ours, since men have a different type of consciousness than insects. The sensory structures of these small animals are distributed in various parts of their skeleton. Insects also have different and more efficient pain blocking mechanisms than humans. Thanks to these mechanisms, a cockroach continues to walk even after having a leg blown off. Something similar to what happens to a soldier who continues fighting in the heat of battle and only later realizes that he has been wounded.
– How many species of insects are there in the world?