Can insects be trained like other animals ?

Hiroki Maki

Although they may not rival dogs or other mammals, most insects do have the ability to learn and therefore be trained to some extent. Animals are trained through classical conditioning, where they learn to associate two events - for example, performing a trick and receiving a reward. Researchers have used this technique to train wasps to detect scents by repeatedly exposing them to a smell and then feeding them sugar water. After a few minutes training, the wasps respond to the smell by crowding around it. However, insects limited intelligence means they have a much smaller capacity for learning than most pets.