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 anti-coup protester holds a Burkinabe flag in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, September 18, 2015. Security forces in the capital of Burkina Faso fired in the air on Friday to disperse demonstrators who burned tyres and blocked neighborhood streets to protest at a military coup this week that derailed a democratic transition. The head of a military junta in Burkina Faso which took power on Thursday has freed interim President Michel Kafando and two of his ministers, state television said on Friday. (Photo by Joe Penney/Reuters)

Baghdad-based artist Othman Toma uses multi-colored melting treats as a medium for his art, instead of normal paint. And it works incredibly well. In fact, to the untrained eye, his artworks seem painted with regular watercolors.

A young visitor interacts with a baby hippopotamus swimming in its enclosure at the Berlin Zoo on January 1, 2018. Tourists and locals flocked to the zoo in the German capital on the unseasonably warm first day of the year. (Photo by Odd Andersen/AFP Photo)

A child of a migrant worker drinks water as his mother holds him while waiting in a queue for transport to reach to a railway station to board a train to their home state of northern Uttar Pradesh, after a limited reopening of India's giant rail network following a nearly seven-week lockdown to slow the spreading of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ahmedabad, India, May 15, 2020. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

A Filipino girl is carried along a flooded road in suburban Mandaluyong, east of Manila, Philippines, as monsoon downpours intensify while Typhoon Nepartak exits the country on Friday, July 8, 2016. In the Philippine capital, Manila, and outlying provinces, classes in many schools were suspended and at least six flights, including one scheduled to come from Taiwan, were canceled because of stormy weather and floods following monsoon downpours intensified by the typhoon, Filipino officials said. (Photo by Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

An artist carries a clay statue of Lord Vishwakarma to the market for sale before the Vishwakarma Puja festival in Nepal, Kathmandu on September 16, 2025. The festival, celebrated on September 17 this year, honors Lord Vishwakarma, regarded as the divine engineer and craftsman, and involves prayers for creativity, prosperity, and protection of tools and workplaces. (Photo by Safal Prakash Shrestha/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Women are pictured wearing a protective face mask and face shield as the Indonesian government eases restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 8, 2020. (Photo by Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters)