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.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice holds up his dog Babydog's rear end as a message to people who've doubted the state as he comes to the end of his State of the State speech in the House chambers, Thursday, January 27, 2022, in Charleston, W.Va. (Photo by Chris Dorst/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP Photo)

A protester in an Elmo mask dances during the Justice for George Floyd Philadelphia Protest on Saturday, May 30, 2020. Demonstrators took to the streets across the United States to protest the death of Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. (Photo by Matt Rourke/AP Photo)

A riot policeman watches as a police vehicle burns in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday, October 25, 2016. Rioters in South Africa set a police vehicle on fire Tuesday and stoned vehicles near a Johannesburg university that has been the scene of sometimes violent protests by students demanding free education. The violence broke out in streets near the University of the Witwatersrand at around the same time that student protesters met and marched off the campus, South African media reported. (Photo by Yeshiel Panchia/AP Photo)

A protesters holds a flower as stand behind police barrier during a protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Photo by Francisco Seco/AP Photo)

A woman falls as police move in to disperse protesters in Trafalgar Square in London on September 26, 2020, at a “We Do Not Consent!” mass rally against vaccination and government restrictions designed to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, including the wearing of masks and taking tests for the virus. (Photo by Justin Tallis/AFP Photo)

A child in a Supergirl costume pays respects as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose under the Portico at the top of the front steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building, in Washington, U.S. September 23, 2020. (Photo by Alex Brandon/Pool via Reuters)

A man shouts slogans demanding cooking gas cylinders as a group of people block an intersection protesting against shortages of essentials in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, May 7, 2022. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)