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.

Makeup artist He Yuhong, also known as “Yuya”, checks herself in the mirror during a photo shoot following her transformation into the “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, the 17th century oil painting by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, at her house in Chongqing, China on August 14, 2018. (Photo by Thomas Suen/Reuters)

Josef Tödtling – Longest duration full-body burn (without oxygen) Guinness World Records 2016. Location: Styria, Austria. (Photo by Richard Bradbury/Guinness World Records)

Two holy men with a decorative faces and headdresses, taken in Kathmandu, Nepal. Wandering through the cities and forests of Nepal are the holy men, or Sadhus, who have left all materialistic pleasures behind to live a life devoted to God. Their appearances vary from brightly coloured face paints, and decorations, to minimalistic practical clothing, but they all represent the fundamental values and meanings of Hinduism. Danish photographer Jan Moeller Hansen visited the ancient capital city of Kathmandu between 2013 and 2016 and documented the mysterious holy wanderers. (Photo by Jan Moeller Hansen/Barcroft Images)

Sasha, a police dog, wears a cap and gown, on the day of the 374th Commencement exercises at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 29, 2025. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Three cabaret dancers sit glum-faced in the Windmill Theatre's canteen upon hearing the news that the theatre's owners have sold out to a cinema company, on October 02, 1964. The theatre, which was the first to include nudity in its shows, has been able to cope with competition from a growing number of West End strip clubs. (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Children feeding the birds in this Victorian Christmas greetings card. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1885

Television actress Catherine Fuller visits Trafalgar Square in London and feeds the famous pigeons. (Photo by Harry Kerr/BIPs/Getty Images). 26th June 1956