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 inmate (L) tends to a fellow prisoner while performing ear candling during an alternative therapy session as part of the ACUDA programme, at a complex of ten prisons in Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil, August 27, 2015. Ear candling, which involves inserting a hollow cone-shaped device into the ear canal and lighting the exposed end, is believed by practitioners to draw out earwax. According to ACUDA the therapy is beneficial for the inmates' emotional health. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A participant rides a bicycle carrying an orangutan mascot costume as he attends an awareness action calling for the protection of orangutans, organised by local environmental NGO Satya Bumi to mark World Orangutan Day, observed on August 19, during Car Free Day in Jakarta on August 24, 2025. (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Photo)

A Kashmiri woman walks on a footbridge as it rains in Srinagar, June 24, 2015. This year's monsoon rains in India are officially forecast to be only 88 percent of the long-term average. (Photo by Danish Ismail/Reuters)

For centuries the Highlands peoples of Papua New Guinea fought over land, women and pigs. Sorcery and battle skills could elevate a clan to Bigmanship, where the bigger the “presentation”, the bigger the man. Clans therefore would paint their bodies and create fearsome masks as part of their psy. Here: These are the terrifying tribe of “mudmen” from a remote part of Papua New Guinea. (Photo by Jeremy Hunter/Exclusivepix Media)

Swans from the state Ballet of Georgia production of Swan Lake arrive in London on August 27, 2024 ahead of opening night at London Coliseum venue on 28th August. (Photo by Guy Corbishley/Alamy Live News)

In this January 6, 2017 photo, transgender inmates get a security check from female officers before entering their cell at Pattaya Remand Prison in Pattaya, Chonburi province, Thailand. The prison separates lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender prisoners from other inmates, a little-known policy despite being in place nationwide since 1993, according to the Department of Corrections. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

Female police officers from Istanbul's Motorcycled Police Unit wait to search vehicles during a roadside checkpoint operation on March 7, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey. The rapid response unit nicknamed Dolphins is used primarily in crime prevention operations and has 25 female officers. 6% of Turkey's 250,000 strong police force are women, March 8 marks International Women's Day. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)