Nervous system

The nervous system of an insect can be divided into a brain and a ventral nerve cord. The head capsule, made up of six fused segments, each with a pair of ganglia, or a cluster of nerve cells outside of the brain. The first three pairs of ganglia are fused into the brain, while the three following pairs are fused into a structure of three pairs of ganglia under the insect's esophagus, called the subesophageal ganglion.
The thoracic segments have one ganglion on each side, which are connected into a pair, one pair per segment. This arrangement is also seen in the abdomen but only in the first eight segments. Many species of insects have reduced numbers of ganglia due to fusion or reduction.Some cockroaches have just six ganglia in the abdomen, whereas the wasp Vespa crabro has only two in the thorax and three in the abdomen. Some insects, like the house fly Musca domestica, have all the body ganglia fused into a single large thoracic ganglion.
Insects have nociceptors, cells that detect and transmit sensations of pain.This was discovered in 2003 by studying the variation in reactions of larvae of the common fruitfly Drosophila to the touch of a heated probe and an unheated one. The larvae reacted to the touch of the heated probe with a stereotypical rolling behavior that was not exhibited when the larvae were touched by the unheated probe.Although nociception has been demonstrated in insects, there is not a consensus that insects feel pain consciously.

The insect nervous system consists primarily of a brain (5), located dorsally in the head, and a nerve cord (19) that runs ventrally through the thorax and abdomen. The insect brain is a fusion of three pairs of ganglia, each supplying nerves for specific functions. The first pair, called the protocerebrum, connects to the compound eyes (4) and the ocelli (2, 3) and controls vision. The deutocerebrum innervates the antennae (1). The third pair, the tritocerebrum, controls the labrum, and also connects the brain to the rest of the nervous system.
Below the brain, another set of fused ganglia forms the subesopagheal ganglion (31). Nerves from this ganglion control most of the mouthparts, the salivary glands, and the neck muscles.

The central nerve cord connects the brain and subesophageal ganglion with additional ganglion in the thorax and abdomen. Three pairs of thoracic ganglia (28) innervate the legs, wings, and muscles that control locomotion.

Abdominal ganglia innervate the muscles of the abdomen, the reproductive organs, the anus, and any sensory receptors at the posterior end of the insect.

A separate but connected nervous system called the stomodaeal nervous system innervates most of the body's vital organs. Ganglia in this system control functions of the digestive and circulatory systems. Nerves from the tritocerebrum connect to a ganglia on the esophagus; additional nerves from this ganglia attach to the gut and heart.