Much research into age‐reversal utilizes model organisms such as Drosophila, C. elegans or honey bees. No formal permits are required for field collections or laboratory analysis because honey bee research is not regulated by animal use committees such as the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

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It is debated whether invertebrates suffer nociception (i.e. automatic reflexive response to unpleasant stimuli) or pain (i.e. with a cognitive and lasting component of reaction. As of 2017, countries like the USA or Japan do not require any ethical evaluation for research on invertebrates, but such concerns are likely to exist in the future. Meanwhile, some scholarly journals, such as Animal Behaviour, have begun to raise their level of scrutiny over invertebrate welfare.

Bueno-Guerra, N., & Amici, F. (Eds.). (2018). Field and laboratory methods in animal cognition: A comparative guide. Cambridge University Press.

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Despite their common use as model organisms in scientific experiments, pain and suffering in insects remains controversial and poorly understood. Here we explore potential pain experience in honeybees (Apis mellifera) by testing the self-administration of an analgesic drug. Foragers were subjected to two different types of injuries: (i) a clip that applied continuous pressure to one leg and (ii) amputation of one tarsus. 

The bees were given a choice between two feeders, one offering pure sucrose solution, the other sucrose solution plus morphine. We found that sustained pinching had no effect on the amount of morphine consumed, and hence is unlikely to be experienced as painful. The amputated bees did not shift their relative preference towards the analgesic either.

Groening, J., Venini, D., & Srinivasan, M. V. (2017). In search of evidence for the experience of pain in honeybees: A self-administration study. Scientific reports, 7, 45825.

Peter L Borst

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