An animal enthusiast touches a Bearded Dragon displayed for sale as exotic pet at Thailand Reptile and Exotic Expo in Bangkok, Thailand, 02 August 2024. The Thailand Reptile and Exotic Expo is a trade showcase exhibiting hundreds of reptiles and exotic animals from breeders to sell as exotic pets for enthusiasts. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA)

An urban Opossum covered in light snow visits a suburban Chicago deck on December 10, 2025. (Photo by H Rick Bamman/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

French actress Adele Exarchopoulos poses during a photocall for the film “L'Amour Ouf” (Beating Hearts) at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 24, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP Photo)

A Sukhoi Su-35S jet fighter of the Russian Knights aerobatic team performs during the International Maritime Defence Show “Fleet-2024” in Kronstadt, outside St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 21, 2024. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

American media personality Paris Hilton (L) and American rapper Megan Thee Stallion are seen onstage during NYLON Nights: NYFW x Paris Hilton Infinite Icon Album Release Party presented by Hey Dude at Hall Des Lumieres on September 05, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for NYLON)

These are the stomach-churning pictures of the swing at the end of the world – a rickety wooden swing hanging over a precipice 2,660 metres above sea level – and not a seatbelt in sight. (Photo by Caters News)

Storm clouds blanket the sky over Great American Ball Park as Starlin Castro #13 of the Chicago Cubs fields a ground ball in the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds as on July 7, 2014 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

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.