Pain is officially defined as, “An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage,” yet is experienced differently by each person and organism. Because of this it is extremely difficult to describe just how an animal experiences pain. To study how an animal experiences pain “argument-by-analogy” is applied. This means if the animal reacts in a similar way to how we would, we believe they are experiencing pain.
An example of this is if a dog was pricked with a pin and ran away, just as a human would. The strange thing with insects is that they have no capacity to feel pain at all! Nociceptors are what carry the feeling of pain to the brain. These are essential to experience pain, yet insects and crustaceans have never been found to have any! This means most of these animals are unable to feel any sort of pain!
Centipedes are the best insect to have in your home!
Most people shriek and run when the multiple legs of a centipede are discovered, yet they are actually one of the more beneficial insects that can infest a home. The reason for this is because the diet of a common house centipede usually consists of a rather large assortment of other insects including roaches, houseflies, moths, silverfish, termites, and nearly ever other bug that infects a home.
In addition, they do not harm humans, eat plants, carry diseases, or damage homes, which means their entire life purpose is to pretty much rid your house of every other insect! So next time you see a centipede lurking around, give him thanks rather than the bottom of your shoe and your house just might end up a little less infested.
Worms are creepy looking creatures, and when I read about them, I can feel them crawling over my skin. Despite how gross they make me feel, they are amazing creatures. Imagine digging a hole and finding a 22 foot long worm!
Here are some more quick facts about worms:
- Charles Darwin spent 39 years studying earthworms more than 100 years ago!
- In one acre of land, there can be more than a million earthworms. [Try not to think about how many are beneath your feet at this very moment]
- Baby worms are not born – they hatch from cocoons smaller than a grain of rice.
- Worms are roughly 1,000 times stronger than people. [Prepare yourself for the impending worm invasion]
