Scientists find evidence that crickets may experience pain

Researchers from the University of Sydney conducted experiments on crickets to test whether they experience pain. Dozens of crickets received one of three treatments: a heated soldering iron at 65°C applied to one antenna, the same probe unheated, or no treatment as a control. Crickets exposed to the hot probe "overwhelmingly" groomed the affected antenna more frequently and tended to it over an extended period, while control crickets resumed normal activity quickly. Associate Professor Thomas White described pain as a "longer, drawn-out, ouchy feeling" that differs from hardwired nerve responses, and noted the crickets' behavioural responses would be immediately recognizable as pain if observed in pets.

The findings, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society, add to growing scientific evidence that insects possess rich cognitive capabilities and may deserve greater moral consideration. Over 500 leading scientists and philosophers signed the New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness, acknowledging a "realistic possibility of conscious experience" in insects. Some countries have already begun recognizing sentience in invertebrates like cephalopods and crustaceans. White emphasized that crickets—farmed in billions for food and research—deserve consideration if they are "capable of having better and worse lives."