Animals Archives - Page 30 of 56 - DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

January 5, 2021January 4, 2021

Ant Armor for Leafcutter Ants

The study of insects continues to find design features that enable them to survive when it seems their enemies should wipe them out. The numerous ant species have a variety of defense mechanisms. Entomologists at the University of Wisconsin have discovered ant armor for leafcutter ants.

Leafcutter ants are small and must protect themselves from larger predatory ants. Researchers found that they have a tough coat of mineral armor. Entomologists studying Acromyrmex echinatior worker ants found that their exoskeleton has a thin white protective coating. After trying various methods to remove that mysterious layer, researchers discovered that it is calcite with high magnesium levels.

The thin protective layer, only 7% of the exoskeleton’s thickness, more than doubles the leafcutter ant’s hardness. When larger soldier ants of another species attacked, they were not able to kill the leaf cutterants.

Ant armor for leafcutter ants is similar to the mineral protection that crabs and other crustaceans have, but scientists had not discovered it in ants before. How did these ants get this protection? Researchers theorize that external microbes the ants carry are responsible. That means this is another example of symbiosis between species–another evidence of design. The scientist leading this study said that learning how this tough coating forms could help technicians develop protective coatings for various products.

It seems that God has given every species of life on this planet protection against their natural enemies. Not only must all lifeforms have a ready supply of food and adequate water, but they must have physical protection. Ant armor for leafcutter ants is only one example of God’s intricate design for life.

Reference: Science News, December 19, 2020.

January 3, 2021January 5, 2021

“Truth In Nature” by Don Betts

One of our readers wrote the following poem and sent it to us. We share it with you to show one person’s evaluation of this ministry. The title is “Truth in Nature” by Don Betts.

Does God Exist? Of course, He does!
My brother John says so.
He digs deep for evidence,
So you and I may know
That God in all His glory lives.
His sign is everywhere
Extant in oh, so many things,
Wonders made for us to share.

John’s compiled a Dandy List,
Designs in nature meant to be
Proof in things that now exist
In which God’s face we see.
The truth of His existence
Is everywhere we look,
And our hope lies in persistence
Worded in His Holy Book!

Yes, we can find truth in nature as we see God’s design.

January 2, 2021January 2, 2021

New Year Pagan Beliefs and Superstitions

As we begin a new year, we realize that many of our 21st-century traditions are rooted in new year pagan beliefs and superstitions about animals.

January gets its name from the Roman god Janus – the protector of gates and doorways. A tradition arose to drive away the forces of darkness by making noise. In Thailand, people fire guns. In China, they set off fireworks. In Switzerland, people beat drums, and in Italy, they ring church bells. In the early American colonies, people fired guns to drive away evil spirits. Today, people use party horns and sirens.

February comes from the Latin word “februa,” meaning to cleanse. The name originated in the Roman celebration Februalia, a month-long festival of purification and atonement. February’s most interesting tradition is on February 2, Groundhog Day, which falls on the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. For centuries, farmers in France and England looked to a bear to indicate if there would be more winter weather. In Germany, a badger told farmers if winter was ending, so they knew when to plant and hire laborers.

When German immigrants came to Pennsylvania in the 1800s, they brought this tradition with them. There were no badgers in Pennsylvania, so they substituted a groundhog. In 1887, the people of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, invented Punxatawney Phil to predict the seasonal change. Other towns have adopted their own groundhog traditions, such as Wiarton Willie in Wiarton, Ontario. Studies have shown no consistent correlation between the predictions of the groundhogs and the arrival of spring weather.

I have a farmer friend who swears he can tell how bad winter will be by looking at the caterpillars in his garden. I have seen energy-charged debates about whether animal behavior can predict the weather. So many variables control climate that humans will always have problems trying to predict when spring will arrive and when to plant crops.

New year pagan beliefs and superstitions involving animals are not dependable. One thing that is always right and never misleading is the teaching of Jesus Christ. When you read Matthew 5 – 7, you will find principles that are true and unchanging. Trust God’s Word to guide your life, and realize that the physical world in which we live will always be unpredictable. Any human attempts to predict the future will always be prone to error.

Some of this data came from The Old Farmers Almanac at Almanac.com/Store.

December 30, 2020December 29, 2020

World’s Only Poisonous Rodent

An exciting area of study is the way various animals protect themselves against would-be predators. We find one of the most unusual methods in the African crested rat (Lophiomys imhausi), also known as the maned rat. It’s the world’s only poisonous rodent.

Crested rats have a white-bordered mane that extends from the top of the head to the base of the tail. Their body can be up to 14 inches (360 mm) long, or 21 inches (530 mm) if you include the tail. They would make a very nice meal for a wild dog or hyena if they didn’t have a poison defense system.

Crested rats chew the bark of the poison arrow tree (Acokanthera schimperi). They spit out the chewed matter and rub it on the coarse fur of their mane. When threatened, the rat’s mane stands erect, so the poison is the first thing a predator will contact. The toxin is strong enough to kill a wild dog or hyena.

Researchers studying crested rats report that their behavior demonstrates that they are aware of their poisonous nature. It seems to be built into the DNA of these animals to know how to secure the toxin. Animals such as skunks produce their own noxious chemicals for defense, but they are not poisonous. Scientists have not found any other mammal that collects poison from a plant species and stores it for protection. Crested rats depend on the poison arrow tree and don’t seem to be harmed by the poison.

How does the world’s only poisonous rodent develop such a tool for survival? We see God’s design over and over in animal behavior and the tools that they know how to use.

December 17, 2020December 16, 2020

Seahorse Role Reversal

In most animal species, the female is the one who gives birth and cares for the young, but that is not always the case. One exception to that rule is the seahorse role reversal.

Females seahorses compete to secure a mate. The female is the leader in the courtship ritual, which involves an extended “dance.” After the ritual, the female will deposit her eggs in a pouch on the front of the male. The male fertilizes the eggs and keeps the embryo sea horses for as long as ten weeks.

At the end of that time, the male ejects the young with muscle contractions, pushing them out into the ocean to fend for themselves. There can be dozens or hundreds of tiny seahorses, depending on how big the male is. Sea horses live in dense seaweed, which supplies food and hides them from predators. Small fish such as seahorses are easy prey for many animals in the sea, so they need to reproduce in large numbers.

Besides the seahorse role reversal, there are other cases in the natural world where a male is the caregiver for offspring. Diversity is the answer to many needs of a balanced life system, and the male and female roles can be different depending on the needs of the ecosystem.

The more we learn of the natural world, the more examples we see of incredible design and planning which reflect God’s actions in preparing this planet for human life. We all have a role in protecting the diversity of living things God has placed in our care.

National Wildlife magazine for December-January 2021 has pictures of seahorse birthing.

December 15, 2020December 14, 2020

Bees Develop a Defense Against Killer Hornets

One of the strangest battles in the natural world has been the war between killer hornets and honey bees. The large hornets invade the honey bees’ hives, carry off the bee larvae, and feed them to their offspring. Scientists are seeing bees develop a defense against killer hornets.

This battle has been going on in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal for some time. In 2019, the killer hornets arrived in Europe, Canada, and the United States. Beekeepers are desperately trying to find the killer hornet nests and destroy them. One of the problems they face is that a single hornet sting delivers about seven times as much venom as a bee sting, so encounters with them can be very painful.

Researchers at the University of Guelph in Canada have found that the bees develop a defense against killer hornets in Vietnam. The bees collect buffalo dung and pack it around the entrances to their hives. The animal feces reduced hornet intrusions by 94%. The honey bees did not use the dung until hornets started invading, and it surprised people who work with the bees. Because beehives are ideal places for disease to grow, bees are very careful about allowing any contamination of their hives. Any attempt to give an evolutionary explanation to this defense system by the bees is doomed because there has not been enough time for any behavioral changes to occur.

Because they can travel great distances by various methods, it is not surprising that insects from one geographical region will show up in a different area. When they do, it creates a problem because they don’t have predators to control them. Fire ants have caused problems in the United States for some time, and African bees are becoming problematic. It appears that the knowledge to use feces to repel their mortal enemies is built into the honey bee’s DNA. Scientists are trying to understand whether it is the smell or natural chemicals that keeps the hornets away. One thing is clear. The bees have a tool they know how to use.

When we see how bees develop a defense against killer hornets, it reminds us that living things are designed to preserve life. The intelligence of the living system is strong evidence of God’s creative ability. The next time you enjoy honey, remember that it is not just the honey itself that God has given you, but also the protection built into the honey bees who produced it.

Reference: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/09/honey-bees-use-animal-poo-to-repel-giant-hornet-attacks

December 11, 2020December 11, 2020

Tiny Living Things that Make Life Possible

The natural world is incredibly complex, with a staggering number of things that we are not even aware of. Every cubic meter of air above a grassy field can contain more than 100,000 living things, many of which we can’t see. We seldom realize that it is these tiny living things that make life possible.

In 2008, Dr. Thomas Kunz at Boston University helped to establish a new scientific discipline called aeroecology. Dr. Kunz and his team used radar, telemetry, thermal imaging, and acoustic monitoring devices to study our lower atmosphere. Other scientists have continued studying aeroecology, which provides useful information in biology and such diverse areas as weather, wind turbines, conditions around airports affecting airplane safety, and disease control.

Aeroecology also involves controlling and maintaining insect populations. Insects are pollinators, and they are critical in a variety of food chains. Recent problems with bee die-offs have affected food production in many areas. Birds and bats help control airborne insects, and their survival is essential to maintain healthy conditions for the success of farming. A purple martin will eat about 20,000 insects yearly, which means this one species removes roughly 412 billion bugs from the atmosphere every year. Some birds stay in the air eating bugs for months at a time, like the alpine swifts of Europe and Africa. They can fly continuously for up to seven months while eating, drinking, and even sleeping.

All of this atmospheric life has a direct bearing on our bodies. We take in massive numbers of bacteria from the atmosphere. Studies by the germ-free research center at Notre Dame University have shown that microbes are critical for life. Researchers found that germ-free rabbits were unable to reproduce. Babies exposed to antibiotics during the first six months of their lives are prone to being overweight. A lack of microbes alters the serotonin levels in humans, affecting many areas of our health. Healthy humans have 1000 microbial species in their mouths and more than 10,000 species in their digestive systems.

The bottom line is that the life of a plant or animal is not just about the organism itself. It is also about the tiny living things that make life possible. The air and the soil are full of these supporting organisms. This indicates design by an Intelligence far beyond what humans can comprehend.

As we get more and better tools to look into the very small, we are astounded by their complexity and function. The Bible simply says God created life. We don’t see any detail, nor should we expect to. How would you explain bacteria to a man with no microscope? “We can know there is a God through the things he has made” (Romans 1:20). Our ability to understand the tiny living things that make life possible leaves us in awe of what God has done.

Footnote: In 2011, Dr. Thomas Kunz was struck by a car and severely injured, ending his career. In 2020, Dr. Kunz, who introduced the science of aeroecology, died from an airborne disease—COVID-19. You can read more about his remarkable life HERE and HERE.

December 10, 2020December 9, 2020

God’s Diversity of Birds

An interesting study involves the biblical classifications of living things. Genesis doesn’t talk about species — it talks about broad groupings. For example, “the flesh of fish” and “the flesh of birds” (1 Corinthians 15:39 and Genesis 1:20-21) includes a wide range of species with many adaptions to particular environments. There is no better example of adaptation than what we see in God’s diversity of birds.

The December 5, 2020, issue of Science News featured a discussion of recent studies into the genomes of modern birds. called the “Bird 10,000 Genomes Project.” An international team of researchers has published the genomes for 363 species of birds, covering roughly 92% of all modern bird families. The scientists in the project are determined not to stop until they have published the genomes of all bird species on Earth.

This diversity is amazing. There are flightless birds like emus, kiwis, and penguins. Some birds are carnivores, and others are herbivores. Other birds have very limited and specialized diets. Some have wide ranges, and others, such as the Henderson crake, are found only on one island in the South Pacific. The most practical aspect of this study is learning how to protect bird species to preserve diversity. All creatures on Earth have properties important to humans, so this research is critical.

God didn’t create 10,000 species of birds independently of one another. He created “fowl,” and the Bible mentions several different species. The bird genomes allowed them to adapt to different environments. Those environments could support other forms of life only because birds supply nutrients and resources that make life possible. Bird migrations can provide the needs for environments thousands of miles apart. The Arctic tern and the bar-tailed godwit are excellent examples of that. Birds not only supply the needs of plants, but their eggs provide food for a variety of animals.

God has used diversity to supply the entire planet with life. Romans 1: 20 tells us that we can know there is a God by the things He has made. We see incredible wisdom and design built into God’s diversity of birds.

You can find the article in Science News HERE and the research report in Nature HERE.

December 7, 2020December 6, 2020

World’s Fastest Ant Species

One of the exciting things about life on Earth is that there are creatures designed to survive, even in hostile environments. A good example is the Saharan silver ant (Cataglyphis bombycina), the world’s fastest ant species.

These ants thrive in the Sahara desert, where the sand’s daytime temperature can be as high as 140 degrees F (60 degrees C). In fact, these ants’ primary food is the remains of other insects that have died from the heat. Saharan silver ants play an important environmental role by helping to keep the desert clean. But how do they survive the heat?

Researchers have found that these ants are designed to move extremely fast. They can travel 108 times their body length in one second. That would be equal to a human running 1 ½ football fields in one second. Have you ever been barefoot on the beach and had to sprint over the hot sand? The ants run so fast that each foot is in contact with the ground for only seven milliseconds. That is not long enough for the heat to threaten the ant’s survival. Researchers say the muscle contraction speed is unique to Saharan silver ants, and it is at the limit of what the ant’s body can withstand, making them the world’s fastest ant species.

We see life no matter where we look on planet Earth. Life prevails from the hot desert sands to the extreme pressure and darkness of the deepest part of the oceans. Through the system of plant and animal life, even the extremes, God has provided for the needs of humans.

Reference: National Wildlife, December/January 2021.

December 3, 2020November 30, 2020

Nature’s Jawbreaker – the Ironclad Beetle

What would you think if I told you that a steamroller weighing 3900 tons could run over me and not hurt me? I doubt you would even dignify me with an answer because it is obvious that I would be lying. In the natural world, a beetle called the diabolical ironclad beetle (Phloeodes diabolicus) can withstand a force 39,000 times its body weight and not crack. Researchers have nicknamed it “nature’s jawbreaker.”

Scientists have paid a lot of attention paid to this beetle in recent months because the secret of its ability to withstand massive forces has a variety of applications. That secret is in the beetles’ exoskeleton. Tiny interlocked and impact-absorbing structures with zipper-like ridges connect the exoskeleton’s top and bottom and resist bending to protect the vital organs. A damage-resistant joint connects the left and right side of the exoskeleton, and a protein glue helps hold the top and bottom together. If the beetle is put under tremendous force, tiny cracks form in the glue to absorb impact energies without cracking the joint.

The diabolical ironclad beetle can be run over by a car and survive with no damage to its internal organs. Scientists are researching ways to apply the ironclad beetle design to armored vehicles for the military and various medical devices. Humans frequently use God’s designs in living things to produce devices that protect and serve people. Nature’s jawbreaker has one of the most recently studied useful designs. We prefer to call this beetle, “God’s jawbreaker.”

Reference: Science News, November 21, 2020.

You can read about some other examples of copying God’s design (biomimicry) HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.