Once upon a time a myth was born that insects, unlike animals, are just a machines that not capable of learning and survive only based on their instincts. That myth has become the widespread opinion. Of course, this opinion is indeed erroneous, like many other widespread opinions. Let us try to find out which part is a myth and which part is true.

Men ride a motorcycle in front of destroyed houses after Hurricane Matthew passes Jeremie, Haiti, October 7, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

“Woman with Umbrella in Rain” by Raimund von Stillfried. Artist: Kusakabe Kimbei (Japanese, 1841–1934), 1870s. Commercial photography studios in Meiji-era Japan were renowned for the subtlety and refinement of their coloring techniques. This hand-tinted image of a young woman caught in a heavy rainstorm achieved its naturalistic effect by knitting together multiple strands of artifice: the greenery in the foreground was a studio prop; the flaps of the kimono were suspended by thin wires to create the impression of a strong wind; and long, diagonal marks were made on the negative to suggest streaks of rain. (Photo courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

A country music fan cools off in the wind on the second day of the Stagecoach country music festival in Indio, California April 26, 2014. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

In this April 4, 2014 file photo, a community policeman kicks a man who they alledge participated in an ambush against them near the town of La Concepcion, Mexico. The vigilante force was set-up by affected communities opposed to the construction of the La Parota hydroelectric dam. Two vigilantes were injured and one died. (Photo by Bernandino Hernandez/AP Photo)

Vendors sell clothes on the roadside at a second-hand street side clothing market in Mumbai January 28, 2015. The market is open daily for three hours and hundreds of vendors gather to barter or sell used clothing. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

A couple ride a motorcycle along a street during snow in Altay, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China, November 8, 2015. Picture taken November 8, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

An old woman smokes a cigar at Old Havana's Plaza de la Catedral on February 07, 2006 in Havana, Cuba. (Photo by Marco Prosch/Getty Images)