Whether insects (Insecta) have the subjective experience of pain is difficult to answer. Recent work in humans demonstrated that the experience of pain occurs due to the activation of a “pain network” that integrates nociceptive sensory information, memory, emotion, cognition, and self-awareness. In humans, the processing of nociceptive sensory information alone does not produce the subjective experience of pain. Insect nociception is processed largely in parallel in two higher-order areas in the brain: the mushroom bodies and the central complex. There is little evidence of a coordinated pain network that would integrate these two areas with each other along with other traits thought to be important for a pain experience in humans. However, it is difficult to exclude the possibility that insects could have a modest pain experience using a less integrated neural circuit. This possibility seems unlikely, however, because even a modest experience would require some neuronal investment. It is unclear whether insects would benefit from such an investment. Recent work in artificial intelligence suggests that relatively simple, cost-efficient circuits can produce adaptive behaviours without subjective experience. Given our current understanding of insect behaviour, neurobiology, and evolution, the likelihood that insects experience pain is low.