Abstract
Aristotle (in De Anima) supposed the mind of insects was located between the head and abdomen, and was sometimes multiple, which explained why an insect continued to live when cut in two. The behavioural autonomy of the headless insect is illustrated in recent experimental studies. Gryllus campestris can be made to sing calling and courtship songs on stimulation of the thoracic connectives (Otto 1971); a male mantid can complete a sequence of mating behaviour with its head eaten away (Roeder 1963) and a Hyalophora cecropia pupa, without a brain, can undergo a sequence of activities enabling it to escape from the cocoon (Truman 1971).
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Howse, P.E. (1974). Design and Function in the Insect Brain. In: Barton Browne, L. (eds) Experimental Analysis of Insect Behaviour. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-86666-1_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-86666-1_13
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