Cicada Emergence is an Opportunity to Consider Insect Welfare

In spring of 2024, two different broods of cicadas—one living on a 13-year cycle and another living on a 17-year cycle — will appear at the same time. This rare, synchronized event last occurred in 1803.

Attitudes towards cicadas

Cicadas are winged insects that evoke a range of emotions in their human neighbors. For some, cicadas spark a sense of awe and appreciation. They rise up from the ground in massive swarms that can blanket a tree or a rooftop. Their unique emergence patterns and the loud buzzing sounds they produce to attract a mate fascinate nature-lovers.

To others, cicadas are pests, causing perceived damage to trees and shrubs as they feed on the sap of plants and pierce bark to lay their eggs. And while the remarkable volume and hallmark sound of cicadas delight some, these qualities annoy others.

Some people have even taken to consuming cicadas. Although the mercury content in cicadas makes them unsafe for some groups, such as children or pregnant women, they are generally safe to eat when procured from reputable vendors. However, eating cicadas still implies some risks, since the bugs have been underground for more than a decade and may have absorbed pesticides, fertilizers, and other potentially harmful substances.

Cicadas are one of many insect species consumed by humans. Because insects are often perceived as pests, their welfare has rarely been a concern. Yet a growing body of research indicates that insects are surprisingly complex. As our understanding of insects' lives deepens, it may be worth reconsidering their role in our society.

Insects: Friends or foes?

There are probably 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) individual wild insects alive at any time. Some cultures have had a long-standing aversion to our populous insect neighbors. Insects can bite, sting, or even spread disease. Our gut reaction is often to squash insects upon sight.

Yet the human relationship to insects is not as simple as disdain. In other cultures, insects are considered a delicacy and consumed as a source of protein. (Cicadas are certainly not the only insect people eat. Other commonly-consumed insects include beetles, grasshoppers, and bees.) And people even keep insects as beloved household pets. In short, the human relationship to insects is incredibly complex.

Whether you love them or hate them, we depend on insects for our survival as a species. Insects play a crucial role in pollination, which is essential for the reproduction of many crops. Insects are also important for the decomposition of organic matter, which precipitates critical cycling of nutrients in the soil. Certain insect species also control the populations of other insects that can be harmful to plants we rely on as food sources. Ultimately, insects play a key role in the fragile web of life on earth.

Do insects feel pain?

Despite a widespread aversion to insects, we may actually have more in common with them than we realize. Like humans, insects have brains, nervous systems, and perhaps even the capacity to feel pain.

As humans, we process pain by detecting potentially harmful stimuli through sensory receptors (nociceptors). Pain signals travel through nerve fibers to the spinal cord and then to the brain. Insects also have nociceptors, which suggests that they can detect and respond to damaging stimuli, even if they don't have the same level of consciousness as vertebrates.

Ultimately, we don’t know for sure whether insects experience pain. And while growing evidence suggests that they do, it’s unclear whether their experience of pain is anything like ours.

Whether or not insects feel pain, new findings suggest they’re more cognitively complex than we once thought. For instance, certain ant species have passed the “mirror test,” a scientific method used to assess an animal's self-awareness by observing their reactions to their reflection in a mirror. In one study, the researchers applied colored dots to the ants’ bodies. When they presented the ants with mirrors, the ants attempted to clean the painted part of their body, indicating an understanding that they were seeing their own reflection. Passing the “mirror test” has often been associated with more cognitively complex animals like humans, great apes, and dolphins.

Regardless of whether or not insects feel pain, research hints at a complex inner life.

Are there any welfare protections for farmed insects?

One trillion or more insects are farmed for food and animal feed each year in Thailand, the US, and other countries around the world. Insect farming is a fast-growing industry, as start-ups work to produce affordable insect alternatives to animal feed.

While some animals in the US, such as cats and dogs, benefit from legal protections, other animals, such as pigs, cows, and chickens on factory farms, have no laws governing their treatment. There are some state-level measures, but only for certain forms of intensive confinement. The animal welfare laws that do exist typically apply only to vertebrates, which are animals with a backbone. Insects, as invertebrates, do not benefit from legal protections.

The study of insect welfare remains in its infancy. Researchers remain uncertain of which reforms might best improve the lives of insects farmed for food. Some see potential in raising awareness of best practices on farms, as well as adapting slaughter methods to result in less painful deaths.

Towards a harmonious relationship with insects

We still know little about the experiences of insects. As we develop a deeper understanding of their complex lives, questions arise about how we should co-exist with these tiny creatures.

As cicadas emerge this spring, consider leaving them off your plate. Instead, take a moment to marvel at this rare event and appreciate the miraculous lives of our insect neighbors.

The acclaimed biologist E.O. Wilson once observed: “If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.”

It’s time we give insects the respect and consideration they deserve.