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.

An infrared portrait from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope which shows generations of stars is seen in this undated NASA handout image released February 14, 2013. In this wispy star-forming region, called W5, the oldest stars can be seen as blue dots in the centers of the two hollow cavities (other blue dots are background and foreground stars not associated with the region). Red shows heated dust that pervades the region's cavities, while green highlights dense clouds. (Photo by NASA/Reuters/JPL-Caltech/Harvard-Smithsonian/Handout)

A woman with Kimono looks at cherry trees in bloom in Shinjuku Gyoen in Tokyo, Japan on Thursday, April 4, 2024. (Photo by Noriko Hayashi for The Washington Post)

Mario Huettenhofer, chief of the German company 3D Fab, presents his own face as 3d print during the international fairs FabCon 3.D and Rapid.Tech in Erfurt, Germany, Thursday, May 15, 2014. 130 exhibitors from all over the world present the entire world of 3D printing. The trade fairs are accompanied by specialist programs featuring 80 scientists, practitioners and trend analysts from ten countries, who will explain the latest findings, trends and applications for additive processes in industry and for 3D printing in the private sector to newcomers, experts and consumers alike. (Photo by Jens Meyer/AP Photo)

Manman Luk, a freelance model and make up artist, poses inside her 100-square-foot (9-square-metre) sub-divided unit, paying a monthly rent of HK4,700 ($606) in Hong Kong, China January 6, 2017. (Photo by Bobby Yip/Reuters)

A woman tries a swing in front of a screen featuring New York scenes during the new Air France Exhibition called “Air France, France is in the Air” in New York June 25, 2014. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)

Drummers perform during rehearsals at the Bird's Nest National Stadium ahead of the IAAF Athletics World Championships in Beijing on August 20, 2015. The Athletics World Championships will be held at the stadium from August 22 to 30. (Photo by Greg Baker/AFP Photo)