Is it possible to train arthropods to obey basic human voice commands?

I would say (I’m not schooled in this field, but I do know some information) arthropods, over the years have developed different parts of their brains to adapt. Taste & smell are more important & beneficial for a large group of these creatures. They have developed what’s called mushroom bodies, or the scientific name (corpora pedunculata). This is the part of the brain that handles learning, memory & smell. Take ants for example. You may not be able to teach an ant to sit & shake at the sound of your voice, but if you create a scent trail, they will remember that trail for as long as it remains active.

Evolution is all about the ability to survive. For arthropods, to survive – is more dependent on taste & smell. It’s important to remember where you last found food & picking up the scent of your next meal. So that part of their brain developed more than the rest.

As for other animals that do take verbal commands, I’m not entirely sure, but it probably is a mix between similarities in brain development & a little evolution. Animals with very similar brain construction, like a gorilla, have been taught to converse with humans, like the famous Koko.

That’s pretty much the best answer I can provide based on what little I know. Sorry I don’t know much about the subject.

No.

Because they don’t have any concept of language or communication outside of their species.

Because they are not inclined to do behaviors that you would want them to do.

Thank you both for your answers. This is genuinely a fascinating topic for me and I really do hope there is more discussion on it.

Arthropods are like a toaster or a blender.

Designed for a specific task. That task evolved for a great level of efficiency.

No because they do not have organs for hearing and also their brains do not have the capacity to understand the human language.

@cornbird false… many arthropods do have organs for hearing.

@cornbird, It’s called the tympanum. Humans have a similar organ too. Except it’s in our ear, on a grasshopper, it’s in their abdomen.

Also when people are answering I would be very interested in hearing comments as to why certain animals respond better to human training than others.

I thinks it’s more about understanding the animal & it’s habits & way of life. Dolphins are incredibly smart & can be trained with verbal (human) commands… but set me in front of a dolphin & I probably couldn’t train it to swim. But a professional dolphin trainer, someone who has spent years learning about the animal & living with it, they can train dolphins to do amazing things.

I have lived with my golden retriever for 6 years now. I have taught him some pretty good tricks, beyond the sit, shake, speak. I taught him, to sit & face me, like a quick draw… I pull out my imaginary twin shooters & say ‘bang bang’ as I point my hands shaped like pistols at him & he drops to the floor & lays on his back.

I have been with my dog for about 6 years now. I could probably teach him to drive by now. :)

@rpmpseudonym @beautifulbobby193 Sorry..thats true

@cornbird, it’s alright… we are all ‘hear’ to learn… Apologies for the pun… I had to.

@beautifulbobby193 I think the main reason some animals respond better than others is because either they were bred to strive to please us (like dogs – bred specifically for helping humans hunt, travel, etc), or they are very interested in the rewards we give them (animals that love ‘treats’ and are mentally capable of making the connection between the command and the reward are more likely to do what we ask – with the exception of animals that just don’t care enough and will do as they please no matter what, like cats, lol)

Three things are required:

1) Three ossicles to received and transmit complex sounds (only mammals got them)
2) An auditory cortex in the brain able to process and interpret the signals
3) Willingness to execute commands

Dogs got all three because wolves follow the alpha male. House cats got the first two only. They don’t know about the concept of obeying.

Arthropods don’t have any of this.

Excellent, thank you MB, and everybody else.

@mattbrowne Not sure we can just rule out number 3 on all arthropods. As that one is not a physical presence, it’s personality. And I have trained my cat to come when when I call, by whistling a certain pitch/note. Cats do have a willingness to obey, it’s more about the owner willing to work hard at it. I have seen some pretty amazing tricks that people have been able to teach their pets that are not dogs/cats/parrots. We don’t know much about the wild kingdom to dismiss any theories of teaching. Most creatures, we just observe from a distance & assume, based on their natural instincts, that this is all they are capable of. Pretty sure, if we took some of these insects & actually worked at training them to perform a specific task at our command, it wouldn’t be impossible. If trainers were able to train the squirrels to hold a nut up to their ear, then tap it on a table in front of them & sort the nut (for the movie Charlie & The Chocolate Factory remake) then I’m pretty sure if we work hard enough, any animal is capable of learning a new trick.

I agree with @rpmpseudonym as far as the cats.. I know people who have trained their cats to literally jump through hoops, and although with some of the cats it’s a 50–50 chance that they might listen or not, a few of them are very eager to please.

@rpmpseudonym – No, as far as I know house cats don’t obey. Your cat might associate your whistling with something of her interest. Dogs enjoy obeying for the sake of obeying. They like to submit to other living beings. Cats don’t.

@mattbrowne, couple things, my cat came to a specific tone of whistle & there was no reward given when the cat came to me(no treat, no praise). It was a pure ‘call to get over here’ whistle. The cat could be a 100 feet away & if I whistle, the cat will come. Just because it’s uncommon, doesn’t make it impossible. As for dogs ‘enjoyment’. No one can know what animals enjoy, until the day comes where we can talk one-on-one with them. Dogs obey because treats are usually involved. Dogs are very territorial by nature. It’s why they piss around the yard. Dog’s do not submit to other animals, unless they have lost in a fight. Every thing my dog does is because a treat is someone connected to it. He goes outside to piss because I praise him when he comes back. He sits, shakes, speaks, etc. because I give praise & dog bones when he does it. That’s not submission on the dog’s part, thats apart of it’s nature.. doing what it takes to eat. It’s the reason why he doesn’t sit, shake & speak on his own just for the sake of it. If he did, then, yes, I would say he enjoys doing that. But he doesn’t do any of those things without my asking to do so. Like people with shitty jobs. They do it because they know they will get a paycheck (treat) for doing the job. They wouldn’t do it for the sake of enjoyment. They need that paycheck to live on.

@mattbrowne Here and Here

@rpmpseudonym My dog listens to me and I have never given him a treat as a reward in my life. He knows I am in charge and what I say goes. He goes in his kennel when I tell him to even though he doesn’t get rewarded for it, just like he sits and lays down when I tell him to and he comes from across the parking lot when I call him back home. Dogs were bred from wolves by humans specifically to do what we ask of them. There are breeds that are easier to train than others, and most of the time those dogs don’t even need a reward; they were just bred to please us.

@stemnyjones, those cat tricks were really good.

I wouldn’t say dogs are ‘bred to please’ as they have no comprehension of the concept. My dog doesn’t know that it pleases me to have him piss outdoors. He just knows, outdoors is for pissing, indoors is not. He was raised to do it & it has become routine. I think dog tricks are merely an example of cause & effect. I say sit. The dog hears that & knows, if he sits, he will get a treat. But even if I don’t have a treat, he still knows that when I make the sound, ‘sit’, it means I want him to sit down. It’s all about what I say, not what I want. If I ask him to sit, it’s not my pleasure, I just ask him to do it & he does it without any regard towards what or how I feel about it.

-off to teach my cat how to give a high five, because that was just nuts.

@rpmpseudonym – I guess your cat could be a dog in disguise, well, you know, with all the breeding going on ;-)