He picked up his book and launched it across the room. The projectile landed squarely on the creature, squashing it into the carpet. The spider was no more. 

Most people who swat at a fly or squash a spider never give their actions a second thought. What if insects could feel pain? What if the spider felt panic, fear, even sadness as it met its fate? 

Evidence is mounting that some bugs may have feelings. 

Scientists are learning more about insects. At any one time, there are ten quintillionA thousand to the power of six; or a million million millions; or a billion billions; or a million trillions; or a thousand quadrillions. bugs on Earth. That means that for every one person, there are one billion insects. 

Insects look different to humans. Our last common ancestor was a slug-like creature that lived 600 million years ago. Many insects have no lungs, stomach or blood vessels. Their body contents float in liquid. 

In other ways, humans and bugs are similar. Their brains may be smallThe study's participants were given Pleos (baby robots which looked like people). First they were told to interact with them, then to tie them up and beat them., but they have areas for learning and memory. 

Bees can count up to four. Cockroaches have social lives. Fruit flies learn from their peers and experience pain long after wounds heal.

Charles Darwin noted that animals make noise when they are excited and bees hum when they are angry. Nearly 150 years later, entomologistsEntomologists are people who study insects. The term comes from the Greek entomon, meaning insect.  have revealed that Asian honey bees scream when murder hornets attack. 

For many evolutionary zoologists, the idea that insects have emotions makes sense. A spider that is hungry is more likely to seek food. A woodlouse that is delighted to find a fallen tree will not perish in the open. 

"Let's say you're a bee that ends up in a spider web, and a spider is swiftly coming towards you across the web," says one bee cognitionThe mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and understanding.  expert.  "It's not impossible that the escape responses are all triggered without any kind of emotions. But on the other hand, I find it hard to believe that this would happen without some form of fear." 

If the scientists are right, it could have huge implications. Every year, two trillion insects are squashed on Dutch roads alone. 

Of course, not everyone is indifferent to the suffering of insects. JainJainism is an ancient Indian religion. It teaches that the path to liberation is to live a life of harmlessness. monks wear masks over their mouths to avoid inhaling bugs. 

In 2018, ASOS banned silk, extracted by boiling the cocoons of silkworms. As more information about insects' emerges, some think insects rights will become an increasingly prominent part of the animal rights movement. 

"Most people think that insects are like little machines that are just here to annoy us all," says one zoologist. "People just need to get to know them better."

Yes. For years, humans have scorned, crushed, trampled on and eaten insects. They are the most persecuted creatures. But insects are capable of more than many realise. From pain to pleasure, the evidence is emerging to suggest many feel the world around them vividly. 

No. Insects may be able to feel states like hunger or pain, but they cannot experience complex emotions the same as humans. Until a bumblebee can tell us how it feels, we cannot know for sure how sophisticated insects' emotional capabilities are.