Hartpury University Repository

Montrose, V. Tamara

Carroll, Grace

Smith, Richard

Oxley, James A.

Cyborg Insects: Use or Abuse?
Montrose, V. T., Carroll, G.A., Smith, R. and Oxley, J. A.
Department of Animal and Agriculture, University Centre Hartpury, Gloucester, UK GL19 3BE, UK (Montrose, Carroll and Smith)
Independent Researcher, 35 Farnes Drive, Gidea Park Romford, Essex, RM2 6NS, UK (Oxley)
Tamara.Montrose@hartpury.ac.uk
Insect Species Used
Perceptions of Whether Insects Experience Pain
• Insects are widely used in research, in the food industry, and in art, entertainment and fashion. Another recent use of insects involves integrating living
organisms with robotic systems to create cyborg insects (e.g. Bozkurt et al., 2009; Sato et al., 2009; Sanchez et al., 2015).
• Cyborg insects are proposed to be useful in military contexts such as surveillance and the detection of explosives (Dodd, 2014), for search and rescue
operations (Sanchez et al., 2015), and as educational aids (Backyard Brains, 2016).
• There are a number of different stakeholders in the use of cyborg insects. The U.S. Department of Defence, for example, are funding development of
hybrid insect systems (Dodd, 2014), whilst there are mixed reactions to the use of cyborg insects within the scientific community. These range from
ethical concerns to doubts on the feasibility of proposed uses, to a recognition of potential benefits (BBC News, 2006; Grémillet et al., 2012; Dodd, 2014).
• Another important consideration is public acceptance of their use. A number of different factors are likely to impact on this including the insect species
utilised, perceptions of whether insects experience pain, and the proposed context in which the cyborg insects are to be used.
References
• Kellert, S. R. (1993). Values and perceptions of invertebrates. Conservation Biology, 7(4), 845-855.
• McCombs, M. (2002). The agenda-setting role of the mass media in the shaping of public opinion. In: 2002 Mass Media Economics Conference, London School of Economics..
• Patterson, T.E. (2008). The News as a Reflection of Public Opinion. In W. Donsbach, & M.W. Traugott (Eds.). The SAGE handbook of public opinion research (pp.34-40). London: Sage.
• Rentokil (2016a). Moth Control. Rentokil. Available from: http://www.rentokil.co.uk/moths/ [accessed 08/07/16]
• Rentokil (2016b). Cockroaches. Rentokil. Available from: http://www.rentokil.co.uk/cockroaches/ [accessed 08/07/16]
• Sanchez, C. J., Chiu, C. W., Zhou, Y., González, J. M., Vinson, S. B., & Liang, H. (2015). Locomotion control of hybrid cockroach robots. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 12 (105), 20141363. 
• Sato, H., Berry, C. W., Peeri, Y., Baghoomian, E., Casey, B. E., Lavella, G., VandenBrooks, J.M., Harrison, J. F., & Maharbiz, M. M. (2009). Remote radio control of insect flight. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 3, 1-11.
• The Economist (2012). Roaches to the rescue. The Economist. Available from: http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2012/09/cyborg-insects [accessed 08/07/16]
• The Independent (2013). RoboRoach app encourages children to turn cockroaches into smartphone-controlled toys. Independent News. Available from: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/roboroach-app-encourages-
children-to-turn-cockroaches-into-smartphone-controlled-toys-8930682.html [accessed 08/07/16]
• The Mirror (2014). How cyborg cockroaches could save the lives of disaster victims. The Mirror. Available from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/how-cyborg-cockroaches-could-save-4584862 [accessed 08/07/16]
• The Mirror (2016). Remote controlled 'cyborg beetles' could be used to spy on TERRORISTS. The Mirror. Available from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/remote-controlled-cyborg-beetles-could-7658470 [accessed 
08/07/16]
• The Telegraph (2016). Engineers develop cyborg locusts to sniff out explosives. The Telegraph. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/07/04/engineers-develop-cyborg-locusts-to-sniff-out-explosives/ [accessed 08/07/16]
• Time Magazine (2013). Resistance is Futile: PETA Attempts to Halt the Sale of Remote-Controlled Cyborg Cockroaches. Time Magazine. Available from: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/11/01/cyborg-cockroaches-are-coming-but-not-if-peta-has-
anything-to-say-about-it/ [accessed 08/07/16]
• Tsang, W. M., Stone, A. L., Aldworth, Z. N., Otten, D., Akinwande, A. I., Daniel, T. L., Hildebrand, J. G., Levine, R., and Voldman, J. (2010). Remote control of a cyborg moth using carbon nanotube-enhanced flexible neuroprosthetic probe. In: 2010 
IEEE 23rd International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) (pp. 39-42). 
• A number of the key taxa currently used as cyborg insects, such as cockroaches (Sanchez et al., 2015; Backyard Brains, 2016), and moths (Bozkurt et al.,
2009; Tsang et al., 2010) are perceived by the public as pest species and associated with disease, dirt and damage (Kellert, 1993; Horvath et al., 2013).
• Since the public generally view cockroaches and moths as expendable pest species (Rentokil, 2016a,b) with little value, they may be likely to display little
concern regarding the use of these insects. The use of species commonly perceived as pests when developing cyborg insects may be proposed to be
beneficial in encouraging public acceptance, or at least not provoking rejection of their use.
• Whether insects feel pain is a much-debated topic in the field of animal welfare (e.g. Eisemann et al., 1984; Adamo, 2016).
• Systematic study of the public’s opinion regarding whether insects experience pain has not been performed. However, the limited exploration undertaken
by Kellert (1993) suggested that the public sampled believed that insects could experience pain.
• Public concern regarding the pain experiences of insects are also supported by the Ofcom complaints received when live insects were crushed and/or
eaten in popular TV shows such as “I’m a celebrity get me out of here!” (Digital Spy, 2003).
• Whilst the public perception of the use of cyborg insects has not been systematically studied, some understanding of public opinion can be gathered by 
considering news reports. This is as news reports in the media can both reflect and influence public opinion (e.g. McCombs, 2002; Patterson, 2008). 
• The media portrayal of the use of cyborg insects varies depending on their context of use (Table 1). 
Proposed Context of Use
Context of Use Media Portrayal Suggested Explanation for Media Portrayal Examples
Search and 
Rescue
Positive Utilitarian considerations regarding benefits to 
human disaster victims who could be saved by 
their use outweighing costs to insects.
“Roaches to the rescue” (The Economist, 2012); “Bionic bugs could 
be sent to disaster zones to seek out humans trapped under 
rubble” (Daily Mail, 2014); “How cyborg cockroaches could save the 
lives of disaster victims” (The Mirror, 2014).
Military 
Context-
Explosive
detection
Positive Utilitarian considerations as the benefits of saving 
human lives via detecting explosives or thwarting 
terrorist attacks are clear, whilst public 
surveillance is generally viewed with more 
distrust and has less readily apparent benefits.
“Could cyborg insects sniff out bombs?” (Daily Mail, 2016); “Cyborg 
locusts being developed to sniff out explosives” (ITV News, 2016);
“Engineers develop cyborg locusts to sniff out explosives” (The 
Telegraph, 2016).
Military
Context-
Information 
gathering
Mixed “Remote controlled 'cyborg beetles' could be used to spy on 
terrorists” (The Mirror, 2016); “Is that really just a fly? Swarms of 
cyborg insect drones are the future of military surveillance” (Daily 
Mail, 2012). 
Educational 
Aids, e.g. 
RoboRoach
(Backyard 
Brains, 2016) 
Negative Criticisms relate to three main explanations:
1) The belief that cruelty/lack of respect is being 
displayed
2) Lack of belief in the proposed educational 
function (Utilitarian considerations)
3) Impact on children performing these 
procedures (e.g. Graduation Hypothesis).
“…encouraged people to think of the insects as mere machines or 
tools” (The Independent, 2013); “…no way a child is going to learn 
anything about neurological diseases or be interested in studying it 
in the future based on mutilating a cockroach” (Time Magazine, 
2013); “the backpack - known as Roboroach- "teaches kids to be 
psychopaths” (BBC News, 2013).
Conclusions
• The popularity and charisma of the insect species used, belief in insects’ capacity to experience pain, and the perceived benefits of their use in particular 
contexts are all likely to impact on whether cyborg insects are perceived as an acceptable use or unacceptable abuse of insects.
• Further systematic study of these factors upon public opinion and/or acceptance of cyborg insects will be valuable in elucidating this field of study.
References
• Adamo, S. A. (2016). Do insects feel pain? A question at the intersection of animal behaviour, philosophy and robotics. Animal Behaviour, 118, 75-79. 
• Backyard Brains (2016). The RoboRoach. Backyard Brains- Neuroscience for everyone. Available from: https://backyardbrains.com/products/roboroach [accessed 08/07/16] 
• BBC News (2006). Pentagon plans cyber-insect army. BBC News. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4808342.stm [accessed 08/07/16] 
• BBC News (2013). Row over US mobile phone 'cockroach backpack' app. BBC News. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24455141 [accessed 08/07/16]
• Bozkurt, A., Gilmour Jr, R. F., & Lal, A. (2009). Balloon-assisted flight of radio-controlled insect biobots. IEEE transactions on biomedical engineering, 56 (9), 2304-2307.
• Dezeen (2016): Cyborg Insects [photograph]. Available from: https://www.dezeen.com/2016/12/19/cyborg-insects-biobots-map-dangerous-environments-design-technology/ [accessed 27/05/17]
• Daily Mail (2012). Is that really just a fly? Swarms of cyborg insect drones are the future of military surveillance. Daily Mail. Available from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2161647/Is-really-just-fly-Swarms-cyborg-
insect-drones-future-military-surveillance.html [accessed 08/07/16]
• Daily Mail (2014). Dawn of the cyborg COCKROACH: Bionic bugs could be sent to disaster zones to seek out humans trapped under rubble. Daily Mail.  Available from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-
2825264/Dawn-cyborg-COCKROACH-Bionic-bugs-sent-disaster-zones-help-save-humans-trapped-rubble.html [accessed 08/07/16]
• Daily Mail (2016). Could cyborg insects sniff out BOMBS? Locust-inspired robotic ‘nose’ may soon be used in airports to find terrorists. Daily Mail. Available from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3667724/Could-
cyborg-insects-sniff-BOMBS-Locust-inspired-robotic-nose-soon-used-airports-terrorists.html [accessed 08/07/16]
• Digital Spy (2003). 'Celeb' animal cruelty complaints not upheld. Digital Spy. Available from: http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/im-a-celebrity/news/a11180/celeb-animal-cruelty-complaints-not-upheld/ [accessed 09/07/16]
• Dodd, A. (2014). The trouble with insect cyborgs. Society & Animals, 22 (2), 153-173. 
• Eisemann, C. H., Jorgensen, W. K., Merritt, D. J., Rice, M. J., Cribb, B. W., Webb, P. D., & Zalucki, M. P. (1984). Do insects feel pain?—A biological view. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 40 (2), 164-167. 
• Grémillet, D., Puech, W., Garçon, V., Boulinier, T., & Le Maho, Y. (2012). Robots in Ecology: Welcome to the Machine. Open Journal of Ecology, 2 (2), 49-57. 
• Horvath, K., Angeletti, D., Nascetti, G., & Carere, C. (2013). Invertebrate welfare: an overlooked issue. Annali dell'Istituto superiore di sanità, 49 (1), 9-17. 
• ITV News (2016). Cyborg locusts being developed to sniff out explosives. ITV report. Available from: http://www.itv.com/news/2016-07-05/cyborg-locusts-being-developed-to-sniff-out-explosives/ [accessed 08/07/16]
Table 1: Consideration of media portrayal of cyborg insects in search and rescue, military and educational contexts.
Introduction


English

Cyborg insects: use or abuse?

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1 
 
Research 
Short Communication   
Owners’ perception of veterinary medical emergencies 
J.M. Williams1, DPhil, D., Jones2, RVN, BSc (Hons) VNS and C., Thornton2, RVN, BSc 
(Hons) VNS 
Dept. of Animal and Land Sciences1, Dept. of Veterinary Nursing2, Hartpury University 
Centre, Hartpury College, Gloucester, GL19 3BE, UK.  
E-mail for correspondence 
Jane.williams@hartpury.ac.uk  
Summary    
Telephone triage is an effective way for medical emergency teams to organise and prepare for 
incoming cases in human and veterinary medicine. In human medicine many calls are not 
emergencies, no equivalent research exists for veterinary out-of-hours services. Retrospective 
call records (n=1000) from one emergency out-of-hours practice were reviewed. Species 
affected and reason for the emergency call were noted and then subdivided into eight 
categories based on veterinary literature. Thematic analysis identified emergent themes in the 
call records why clients had contacted the practice. Most calls related to canine patients 
(67%), 27% were feline cases and 3% related to rabbits. Fifty-five percent of out-of-hours 
calls were classified as non-emergencies; 45% were emergencies, with the majority of these 
calls concerning category 2: haemorrhage and open wounds, or category 4: systemic shock, 
collapse or dystocia cases. For dogs, 67% of calls were non-emergencies compared to 56% in 
cats and 49% in rabbits. Vomiting (9%), breathing difficulties (6%) and lethargy (6%) were 
the most common reasons for contacting the out-of-hours service. A large percentage (33-
67% depending on species) of pet owners could not accurately recognise veterinary 
emergencies within their pets. This figure is much higher than trends observed in human 
emergency medicine.   
 
  
2 
 
Introduction  
Veterinary practices in the UK are required to provide their clients with access to veterinary 
care outside of their normal working hours: an out-of-hours service. Telephone triage is an 
effective way for medical emergency teams to organise and prepare for incoming out-of-
hours or emergency cases in human and veterinary medicine (Barber and others, 2000). 
Trained telephone personnel are responsible for extracting as much information about the 
nature of the emergency as possible to allow the human / veterinary team to be able to deal 
with the case as effectively as possible once the emergency arrives at the place of treatment 
(Ruys and others, 2012; Cone and Murray, 2002). To some extent, this system relies on 
members of the public recognising what an emergency is and identifying when the right time 
to contact the appropriate veterinary service is. Trends exist within human medicine, for 
patients to contact ambulance services, phone NHS medical helplines or to attend hospital 
Accident and Emergency departments when their condition is a non-emergency, purported to 
be due to a lack of compliance with previous medical advice or an over-estimation of the 
severity of their condition (Turner and others, 2015).  No equivalent research exists for 
veterinary out-of-hours services, therefore this study aimed to evaluate if veterinary clientele 
could differentiate between emergencies and non-emergencies, to discover if a similar 
situation to that observed in human medicine exists within the veterinary industry. 
Method 
Retrospective call and subsequent case records (n=1000) from one small animal emergency 
out-of-hours practice in the West Midlands, offering a dedicated emergency service for 29 
veterinary practices from 18.30 to 08.30 hours, weekdays and a 24-hour emergency service 
during weekends, were reviewed from January 2014 to March 2014. All cases attended an 
emergency appointment, those that did not were excluded from the study. Animals’ species 
and breed, and the reason for the out-of-hours call were noted and cases were divided into 
emergencies and non-emergencies based on findings at the emergency appointment. Case 
notes containing insufficient detail to determine the initial reason cited for attending an 
emergency appointment were excluded from analysis. An emergency was defined as a case 
were without immediate or timely intervention, lasting damage or death of the patient may 
occur (Matthews, 2006). Emergencies were then subdivided into eight categories (1-8) based 
on veterinary literature (Matthews, 2006) by the author (D. Jones) in consultation with an 
experienced veterinary surgeon from the practice and where possible the treating veterinary 
surgeon. Examples of the type of condition which would reside in each category include: 1: 
dyspnoea and choking, 2: haemorrhage and open wounds, 3: poisoning, 4: systemic shock, 
collapse and dystocia, 5: seizures, 6:  blunt trauma, fractures, burns and dislocations, 7: 
ocular injuries and 8: non-emergencies. The relative frequency of emergency versus non-
emergency calls across all species and within defined species groups (cats, dogs, rabbits, 
small mammals excluding rabbits, and birds) was analysed using Microsoft Excel Version 
2010. Thematic analysis (as described by Braun and Clarke, 2006) identified factors which 
appeared in the call records which led a client to initially contact the veterinary practice to 
propose emergent clinical themes which led clients to seek out-of-hours care for their pets.  
3 
 
Results  
Four hundred and fifty emergency calls across all categories were reported: 1: 4%, 2: 14%, 3: 
5%, 4: 10%, 5: 4%, 6: 4%, 7: 4%, representing 45% of total calls, whilst the remaining calls 
(55%, n=550) were non-emergencies (Figure 1). The majority of calls made related to canine 
patients (67%), 27% were feline cases and 3% related to rabbits. Within canine patients, 67% 
of calls were categorised as non-emergencies compared to 56% in cats and 49% in rabbits. 
Limited calls received related to small mammals (n=23; 61% non-emergencies) or birds 
(n=6; 33% non-emergencies).  
Thematic analysis exposed nine key themes why clients had contacted the out-of-hours 
service: vomiting, respiratory difficulties, lethargy, not eating or drinking, diarrhoea, 
bleeding, lame, restless and not themselves (Figure 2).  
Discussion and conclusions 
A large percentage (33-67%) of the small animal pet owners surveyed could not accurately 
recognise veterinary emergencies within their pets. Although it should be noted that the 
results can only reflect client behaviour for the practice surveyed, we believe this trend would 
be repeated across the veterinary sector for small animal practices, in alignment with 
behaviour observed in human emergency medicine. We postulate that similar patterns would 
not occur in large animal (farm and equine) practice due to an increased knowledge of animal 
health and management in owners or within peers (e.g. livery yard owners), economic 
constraints associated with livestock production and the reduction in direct contact with 
animals which could highlight emergencies. 
In the UK, both routine and emergency healthcare are provided free of charge via the 
National Health Service (NHS). However, the majority of veterinary practices charge for 
their services, and a veterinary emergency consultation is usually more expensive than a 
consultation within normal working hours (Pratt, 2016). Human medical research has 
suggested that people use accident and emergency services for the convenience of seeing 
medical staff at the time of their choosing (van Uden, 2003; Shipman and others, 1997). A 
similar rationale may be occurring within pet owners, especially given the time demands 
associated with modern living and the emotional investment people have in their pets (Baker 
and others, 2016). The insurance status of pets was not noted in the current study and could 
also influence client behaviour, as owners may elect to call an out-of-hours service for 
convenience believing additional costs will be covered by insurance. However non-insured 
owners may avoid using an emergency service due to anxiety about veterinary costs. 
Another possible explanation for high percentage of non-emergency calls reported could be 
that pet owners are unsure whether their pet’s condition is an emergency or not, turning to the 
emergency out-of-hours service for reassurance. The NHS implemented an emergency 
guidance phone service ‘NHS 111’ in 2012 to offer a forum where concerned patients could 
seek telephone advice when they felt their illness was not a life threatening emergency 
requiring a ‘999’ immediate attention call. The results suggest scope may exist for an 
equivalent service within the veterinary sector.  
4 
 
Client education may be another solution to reduce the high percentage of non-emergency 
calls. Limited formal opportunities exist to the modern pet owner to engage in animal first aid 
education or qualifications; education could help develop their knowledge regarding 
emergency classification. Veterinary practices could lead the way in client education and 
offer guidance on what conditions require emergency treatment. Such investment would 
demonstrate the practices emotional investment in their clients and their pets, which should 
strengthen client loyalty bonds. Further research exploring why clients elect to contact out-of-
hours services for non-emergencies and do not engage with traditional working hours 
appointments is warranted. There would also be worth in repeating the study across a range 
of veterinary emergency clinics to ascertain if the trends observed here are indicative of the 
entire veterinary sector. 
Acknowledgements 
We would like to thank the veterinary surgery and emergency team for allowing access to 
their data to facilitate this study. 
Conflict of Interest 
No conflicts of interest existed in this work. 
References 
Baker, Z. G., Petit, W. E., & Brown, C. M. (2016). An Investigation of the Rusbult 
Investment Model of Commitment in Relationships with Pets. Anthrozoös, 29(2), 193-
204. 
Barber, J.W., King, W.D., Monroe, K.W. & Nichols, M.H. (2000), Evaluation of emergency 
department referrals by telephone triage. Pediatrics, 106 (4), 818-821. 
Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research 
in Psychology, 3, 77-101. 
Cone, K. & Murray, R. (2002). Characteristics, insights, decision making, and 
preparation of ED triage nurses. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 28(5), 401-406. 
Matthews, K. (2006). Veterinary emergency and critical care manual. Ontario, Canada: 
Lifelearn Incorporated.  
Pratt, K. (2016). The Potential Costs Of Vet Bills. MoneySuperMarket. [online] 
Moneysupermarket.com. Available at: http://www.moneysupermarket.com/pet-insurance/vet-
bills/  [Accessed 14 Mar. 2016]. 
Ruys, L., Gunning, M., Teske, E., Robben, J. & Sigrist, N. (2012). Evaluation of a 
veterinary triage list modified from a human five-point triage system in 485 dogs and 
cats. Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, 22(3), 303-312. 
5 
 
Shipman, C., Longhurst, S., Hollenbach, F. & Dale, J. (1997). Using out-of-hours services: 
general practice or A&E? Family Practice, 14(6), 503-509. 
Turner, J, Coster, J., Chambers, D., Cantrell, A., Phung, V.H., Knowles, E. & Goyder, E. 
(2015). Telephone triage and advice services. Available from: nih.gov.  
van Uden, C. (2003). Use of out of hours services: a comparison between two 
organisations. Emergency Medicine Journal, 20(2), 184-187. 
Figure Legends 
Figure 1: Percentage distribution of out-of-hours calls for canine patients 
Figure 2: Emergent themes why clients contact the out-of-hours service 
 
 
Figure 1 
6 
 
 
Figure 2 


Owners’ perception of veterinary medical emergencies

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