The Underestimated Intelligence Of Insects
March 31st, 2010 Posted in Green Living & News
Some bugs have brains that are so small; they don’t fit on the head of a pin. However, an insect’s intelligence has been gravely underestimated due to the rise of new information that proves some level of cognition.
Researchers thought that certain actions were too complicated for an insect to possibly complete, but we were wrong. New research shows that locusts use some level of limb control to make decisions, much like the ant intelligence identified in the mechanisms of an ant colony.
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The Locust
The locust is one of the deadly plagues that apparently devastated Egypt centuries ago. Locusts, in appearance, are very similar to a grasshopper. Unlike the grasshopper, the locust travels in huge swarms. They often devastate an area, covering the ground and surrounding areas in thousands of locusts.
They sometimes exhibit solitary behavior, like the grasshopper, but since they go through the gregarious phase; the locust will gather in huge swarms to breed and eat. The locust, like most insects, was considered to be an unintelligent animal that exhibits nothing, but sporadic actions towards breeding and feeding. Locusts often decimate crops in farm regions in Africa, also making them a huge nuisance.
Newly Discovered Intelligence
Intelligence is the measure of how an organism synthesizes information to articulate new information and ideas. The way of the locust was unknown until recently, when scientists discovered the locust had visually-guided limb control. This is a complex task that seems too sophisticated for the size of the locust brain, but apparently the size doesn’t have a bearing on its cognitive behavior.
The locust, in a test conducted by researchers, climbed a small ladder that they inspected visually before reaching for the footholds. The fact they feel their way through their environment, showed they used vision to place their legs.
This helps to show they interpret their environment and act accordingly, which is a behavior humans and other larger brained organisms use. This is astonishing to find in insects because it not only highlights an underestimated intelligence, but helps further our understanding of movement in people.
