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.

Two young dancers take pictures while waiting for the start of the Koenji Awa-Odori dance festival, in the Koenji neighborhood of Tokyo. Saturday, August 24, 2019, Started in the 1950s, the Koenji Awa-Odori has grown to be one of Tokyo's largest and most popular summer festivals an estimated 10,000 dancers participating in the dance festival. Hundreds of thousands of spectators gather in the neighborhood to watch the two-day summer spectacle. The event is held on the last weekend of August each year. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

American actress and singer Rachel Zegler sings “Don't Cry For Me Argentina” from the balcony of the London Palladium on June 17, 2025. The show sees Rachel come out onto the balcony to sing to the audience below, and by the third night of the show's limited run the streets have already had to be cordoned off with extra security brought in because the crowds are so big. (Photo by Raphael Pour-Hashemi/The Mega Agency)

The Smilovichi Felting Factory in Belarus was founded in 1928, when Smilovichi was a small Jewish settlement of craftsmen. Five of those craftsmen organized a small artel (a cooperative association of craftsmen who all live and work together), which produced warm boots called “valenki” for cold weather. Photo: Belarusian workers works at a felt boot factory in Smilovichi, some 35km from Minsk, Belarus, 16 January 2012. (Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA)

“NTV (Cyrillic: НТВ) is a Russian television channel. As a subsidiary of Vladimir Gusinsky's company Media-Most, it was a pioneer in the post-Soviet independent television media, but was later taken over by state-owned Gazprom”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A woman with “I love NTV” painted on here face cheers in support of the independent Russian NTV television station April 7, 2001 during a rally in Moscow. Thousands of people gathered in the rain to show their support for Russia's only national independent television station in its fight against new owners. (Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Newsmakers)

A “Rhino Beetle” (Oryctes nasicornis) is seen in Edremit, Van, Turkiye on August 2, 2024. Named “Rhino Beetle” due to the horn on its head, this beetle is commonly found in moist areas across Europe and Turkiye. (Photo by Ozkan Bilgin/Anadolu via Getty Images)

This year’s World Nomad Games, a celebration of nomadic heritage, took place in the Issyk-Kul province of Kyrgyzstan. Eleanor Moseman photographed female competitors who had travelled from all over central Asia and eastern Europe, and explored the difficulties and challenges they face as competitors. (Photo by Eleanor Moseman/The Guardian)

Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is the biggest production the Australian Ballet has ever undertaken and it’s also one of the most spectacular. Created for the Royal Ballet and designed by Bob Crowley, it involves puppetry, optical illusions, major setpieces and immersive projections, as well as costumes that some dancers have to actually climb into. Here: Ako Kondo as Alice, on stage September 11, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Busby/The Guardian)