Animals Archives

September 11, 2026September 10, 2026

Insects Are God’s Tools

One of my neighbors is a mechanical genius – he can fix anything. The secret to his success is that he has a tool for every situation. It is one thing to have a tool, and another to know how to find it. When he needs a screw with a special design, width, and length, he can go to a drawer full of screws and a tool rack full of screwdrivers and have exactly what he needs to do the job. Insects are God’s tools.

Recent studies have shown that scientists have vastly undercounted insect species. Entomologist Laura Melissa Guzman of Cornell University, writing in Science News, says that previous insect species counts of six million are way too low and that the actual count is at least 14 million species and may be as high as 20 million.

The question is why so many species exist, and the reason is that insects are God’s tools to sustain life on planet Earth. Insects serve in many ways. For example, flowers must be pollinated to produce seeds that will grow into new flowers. To pollinate flowers of various sizes and shapes, insects of various sizes and shapes are God’s tools for that purpose. While some insects have particular jobs, others help control insect populations. Scientists have identified over 2,400 species of parasitoid wasps that do this.

Like my neighbor, who has the right tool for every situation, insects are God’s tools for every situation. Guzman writes, “It’s humbling how much we don’t know and how much we have left to know.” Everywhere we look in the world, we see a wonder-working hand has gone before. Insects are another of the things God has created to enable life to exist on our planet.

Reference: Science News, September 2026, page 26

September 10, 2026September 9, 2026

What Are They If Not Insects?

Take this quiz to test your knowledge of living things. What are usually less than 6 mm long, have six legs like an insect, but are not insects? They come in various colors and shapes and live everywhere on Earth, including Antarctica. These tiny creatures can survive on the tallest mountains, in caves, underg r ound, in deserts, grasslands, and forests. The class Collembola includes more than 9,000 species. They can “fly” without wings and provide beneficial services for agriculture. What are they? They are springtails.

They are called “springtails” because they can “spring” into the air so fast that their motion can only be captured at 10,000 frames per second. That helps them quickly escape predators or change locations. Springtails accomplish this Olympic-style feat with a spring-loaded appendage called a furcula on their underside. You could think of it as a lever that stores elastic energy the springtail can release when needed. They keep the furcula tucked under their bodies when not in use, but at any moment they can release it and propel themselves forward and upward.

Springtails thrive in moist locations such as soil, leaves, and rotting wood. They shed their outer shells in warm temperatures, reducing their body size by 30% and giving them a survival advantage. Some springtail species are considered pests; however, most springtails benefit agriculture. Mycorrhizal fungi have a beneficial symbiotic relationship with plant roots. Springtails collect mycorrhizal fungi spores and spread them to other locations, benefiting more plants.

Not only do springtails transport beneficial fungi, but they also eat the spores of pathogenic fungi and the damaging vegetative parts of fungi called mycelia. Through these functions, springtails play a crucial role in controlling plant and fungal diseases. Plant scientists have realized that springtails can be integrated into greenhouses to limit fungal growth. These seemingly insignificant creatures benefit humans.

The next time you see tiny creatures in leaf matter or rotting logs launch themselves into the air, instead of wondering “what are they,” you will know that they are springtails. You will also know they are some of the planet’s most beneficial creatures, playing a role in the marvelous web of life. It is evident that a wise Designer created the system.

Reference: scienceandcultu r e.com

September 3, 2026September 2, 2026

Giants and the Laws of Physics

A recent animated movie depicting David and Goliath showed Goliath as enormous. How tall was Goliath? The Bible says Goliath was “six cubits and a span,” which is about nine feet nine inches (3 meters). That is a large man but within the realm of possibility. The tallest man in modern recorded medical history was Robert Wadlow, who, in 1940, was slightly under nine feet tall. The children’s story of Jack and the Beanstalk depicts a giant of enormous proportions. In Homer’s “Odyssey,” Odysseus meets the one-eyed giant Cyclops, who can pick up a person in one hand. Are these legendary giants depicted in movies and storybooks possible in real life? Let’s consider giants and the laws of physics.

In 1638, Galileo Galilei wrote a document arguing that the way giants were depicted in folklore would not be possible. A human’s bone structure supports that person’s weight and is geometrically designed for optimal function. If you scaled up a human while keeping the same proportions, the bones would be stronger. If you increased both cross-sectional bone dimensions by 10 times, the strength would increase by 10 times 10, so the bone would be 100 times stronger.

At the same time, however, the body’s volume would increase by 10 times. The increased mass would be 10 times 10 times 10. Bone strength scales with the square, while volume scales with the cube. In other words, the weight of the body would be 1000 times greater. You now have bones that are 100 times as strong, but they must support a body mass that’s 1000 times greater. The fact that the bone structure could not support the weight is the problem of giants and the laws of physics. Increasing the size of the human body would require a much larger increase in the bone structure. That is why the leg bones of elephants are proportionally much thicker than the leg bones of dogs and cats.

Sometimes movies depict flies or other insects becoming huge because of some science-fiction apparatus. But if a fly became larger than a human, keeping the leg thickness in proportion, the legs would not be able to support the creature. A fly increased to only ten times its normal size would weigh 1000 times as much and be unable to fly. If a water bug that walks on the surface were increased 10 times in size, it would sink because surface tension would not support 1000 times the weight. Again, giants and the laws of physics are not compatible.

On the other hand, what would happen if humans were scaled down, as shown in science fiction movies? If scaled down by a factor of 10, the miniature humans would have bones that are 100 times weaker, but they would weigh 1000 times less. They could potentially carry a much larger load relative to their size. That explains how ants can carry loads several times their weight.

The bottom line is that humans are designed to do what we need to do, and ants are designed to do what they need to do. Science fiction movies about enlarging insects or shrinking humans are purely fiction. Goliath was a giant by human standards, but he was not as large as depicted in the recent animated movie. Regardless of his size, David did not defeat Goliath by his own strength. He clearly said it was by the power of God. (See 1 Samuel 17:45.) David was victorious because he trusted the same God who designed humans and ants – and the laws of physics.

Reference: mit.edu

August 26, 2026August 18, 2026

Moths Smell With Their Wings

Moth wings have a soft look because they are covered with sensitive hairs. These multifunctional hairs provide moths with flying stability, temperature regulation, and a sense of taste. Yes, moths taste with their wings, but a new study indicates that moths smell with their wings.

The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, was conducted by the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Germany. The researchers found that tobacco hawkmoths (Manduca sexta) have receptor proteins in their wings that detect both smells and tastes.

Examination with an electron microscope showed that some of the hairs are porous. Further analysis showed that the wings have genes for detecting scents. They can detect the odor of organic compounds present in the leaves of nightshade plants, where they prefer to lay their eggs.

Knowing that moths smell with their wings reminds us that the more we learn about God’s creation, the more we are amazed at the diversity of living things and the way each has been given what it needs to survive.

Reference: popsci.com

August 25, 2026August 18, 2026

Notions of Evolution

Ancient insects were often trapped in amber and beautifully preserved. Researchers found ground beetles in the genus Loricera in amber from Myanmar, radiometrically dated to 99 million years old. Both adult beetles and larvae were present. Remarkably, they are indistinguishable from today’s living specimens of Loricera beetles, both adults and larvae. This means these beetles have survived unchanged even through the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs and the vast majority of life on Earth. According to an article in Wired magazine, “the Loricera beetle’s survival story challenges conventional notions of evolution.”

When evolutionists find that a species has remained unchanged for a long period, they explain it by saying it was because the species lived in a stable environment. However, in this case, these beetles have remained unchanged through changing environments, changing climate, and a worldwide mass extinction. The researchers had to admit that the beetles “have exhibited significant evolutionary stasis, both in terms of individual species morphology and community structure.” In other words, despite massive environmental changes, there has been no evolutionary change.

According to the “notions of evolution,” natural selection causes massive changes in living things over time and can even produce rapid, explosive changes such as the Cambrian Explosion. When species show “stasis” over eons of time through massive ecological changes, biologists call those species “living fossils.” In other words, the doctrine says that unguided evolution through natural selection acting on random mutations can explain anything. Gunther Bechly, writing on scienceandculture.com, accurately stated regarding the theory of Darwinian evolution, “…a theory that is always perfectly consistent with any possible outcome is not explaining anything.”

Reference: scienceandculture.com

August 24, 2026August 17, 2026

The Difference Between Bees and Flies

I was sitting on my deck, enjoying a cool drink on a summer afternoon, when a bee kept buzzing around me and trying to get into my drink. Then, on closer examination, I realized this wasn’t a bee; it was a fly! How can you tell the difference between bees and flies?

Certain flies, especially hoverflies or drone flies, imitate bees. The various species can resemble a bee’s shape, have black-and-yellow stripes and hairy bodies, buzz around like bees, and feed on nectar from flowers. But they are not bees. You could call them fake bees, hoping to fool potential predators–and me. These bee imitators can fool you unless you look closely and know the difference between bees and flies.

One major difference is that flies have only one pair of wings, while bees have two pairs, even though their transparency may make it hard to see both pairs. Another difference is the eyes. The eyes of flies are large and cover most of their heads, but bee eyes are much smaller. Flies also have short, stubby antennae, while bees have long, slender ones. One crucial difference, as far as I’m concerned, is that bees have stingers, but flies don’t.

When one creature imitates another, it’s called Batesian mimicry. It happens among many species. A viceroy butterfly looks similar to a monarch butterfly unless you look closely. What’s the point of Batesian mimicry? Monarch butterflies have a toxic, bitter taste that deters potential predators, while viceroys do not. The monarchs get their unpleasant taste from the milkweeds their larvae feed on. One bite will scare away potential predators. Viceroys benefit by avoiding predators, even though they might make a delicious meal for a bird.

Getting back to the difference between bees and flies, bees are generally avoided because of their potential to sting. By looking like a bee, flies gain protection from their enemies. That shows great cleverness on the part of those hoverflies or drone flies, as well as the viceroy butterflies. Or does it? Actually, I’m sure those flies didn’t choose to look like bees. The cleverness goes back to the Creator who gave the insects that special protection. God provides for his creatures, including us. For that, we can be thankful.

August 19, 2026August 17, 2026

Random DNA Mutations

In the 1960s, Japanese biologist Motoo Kimura introduced the neutral theory of molecular evolution. It advanced the idea that most random DNA mutations are not driven by survival of the fittest but by pure chance. Now a team of scientists at the University of Michigan has published a new study saying that beneficial mutations arise more frequently than Kimura had believed. However, they say that a changing environment often prevents those mutations from spreading through an entire population. In other words, environments change more quickly than mutations can spread through populations.

Random DNA mutations arise by chance, and natural selection removes the unhelpful ones. The new study determined that only 1% of amino acid mutations are beneficial. That doesn’t sound like a very big percentage, but it is larger than what Kimura suggested. Even then, those mutations don’t spread to the entire population of a species.

To conduct this study, researchers at the University of Michigan used yeast cells, which live for only 3 hours. That brief generational time allowed them to study 1320 yeast populations over 800 generations using 100 different growth media to create different environments. Environmental changes effectively erased a mutation’s advantage before it could spread through an entire population. In addition, mutations that are beneficial in one environment are usually harmful in another.

In all research, random DNA mutations have not been shown to create new species or higher orders, but they do change and refine existing species. Even with mutations in yeast populations, whether they were beneficial or otherwise, the result was still yeast. The same could be said in other cases, such as dogs or cattle, where we can see mutations resulting in new variations among those animals, but they still remain dogs or cattle.

As we have said before, microevolution does not prove macroevolution. Even if the uncommon mutations are beneficial, they are often lost because they don’t spread through the entire population. Evolution cannot explain the diversity of life on planet Earth.

Reference: msn.com

August 18, 2026August 17, 2026

Octopus Mating Arm

Evolutionary theory assumes that all organisms are related in some way. Yet some life forms have a unique makeup unrelated to any other. One example is the octopus mating arm.

It’s common knowledge that an octopus has eight arms. What is less known is that one of those arms, called the hectocotylus, is the octopus mating arm. The male uses the other seven arms for hunting and exploring, but generally holds the hectocotylus close to his body when not mating. The female octopus has a mantle, a structure behind the eyes that houses all her organs. The male octopus reaches into the female’s mantle and feels around until he finds her ovary. He then slides a sac of sperm down his arm and deposits it.

It’s interesting that the male cannot see what he is doing, so the female helps by secreting enzymes that produce the sex hormone progesterone, which attracts the male octopus mating arm. The octopus is a highly visual animal in every other part of its life, but its reproductive system involves no vision. Each octopus species has its own chemical signature, so there is no interference in the reproductive system from other species.

As we learn about the octopus and its reproductive system, it seems that God has left His signature on this animal, showing that an engineer designed life. No chance explanation can easily account for how octopus reproduction originated. Romans 1:20 tells us that we can know there is a God through the things He has made.

Reference: Scientific American, June 2026, pages 16-17.

August 12, 2026August 10, 2026

QT45 and Origin of Life Research

Researchers at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, have synthesized an RNA polymerase, an enzyme that assembles RNA molecules. RNA is ribonucleic acid, an organic molecule necessary for replicating DNA, which is found in every living cell. QT45 is hailed as a step toward understanding the origin of life, but is it really?

Researchers called this RNA polymerase QT45 because it is “Quite Tiny” and has only 45 organic molecules called nucleotides. Most RNA polymerases have over 150 nucleotides. The researchers proudly point out that this RNA polymerase can replicate itself with “high accuracy.” UK Research and Innovation posted an article titled “Scientists’ chemical breakthrough sheds light on origin of life.” But that may be an exaggeration.

If the origin of life happened by chance without intelligent intervention, then this discovery proves nothing. Creating QT45 required several steps, at least three of which used advanced laboratory techniques. First, the researchers had to generate trillions of random RNA molecules. Then they had to apply eleven rounds of mutation and selection to obtain a few RNAs that could link a growing chain. Then they had to apply seven rounds of selection to improve performance. The bottom line is that this did not happen naturally. Furthermore, it could not have happened naturally.

As reported in Science and Culture in February of 2026, “Such highly specific conditions and highly orchestrated steps do not resemble any environmental conditions that could have ever existed.” Even if such conditions could have happened and QT45 formed naturally, it is still far from being a living cell. Life requires much more than the ability to replicate. It is far from a “chemical breakthrough” that “sheds light on the origins of life.” The origin of life remains a scientific mystery for those who reject the Bible. For more on this issue, use the link below.

Reference: scienceandculture.com

July 29, 2026July 27, 2026

Chimpanzee Civil War

One of the doctrines of Darwinism is that animals are driven by a basic obedience to “survival of the fittest.” The fit survive, and the less fit do not, and that determines the future and existence of the life form. In Darwinism, war is viewed as a human creation based on politics, history, or economics. In Darwinian terms, the only time an animal would kill another of its own species is when a male kills the babies of a female he wishes to mate with to produce his own progeny. More recent research indicates a chimpanzee civil war.

Recent studies of chimpanzees in Uganda have shown that the roughly 200 chimpanzees in Kibale National Park have split into two groups of about 100 individuals and have declared war on each other. The groups have been called the Central and Western clusters. Between 2018 and 2024, researchers witnessed Western adults kill seven males and 17 infants from the Central group. An additional 14 adolescent or adult Central males disappeared during that time, and their bodies were never recovered. Researchers have documented two more attacks on Central males since the study ended in 2024.

Primatologist Jane Goodall observed a chimpanzee civil war in Gombe National Park in Tanzania, with several chimpanzees killing others in the 1970s. However, it was assumed that the action was not natural, but because humans gave Gombe chimpanzees bananas. We now know that this is normal chimpanzee behavior and that war is not restricted to humans. What we have now seen among chimpanzees has also been seen among lions, dogs, cats, and hyenas, and has been misunderstood by Darwinists. Behavior among higher forms of life is not just controlled and driven by sex and food.

Because humans have a spiritual makeup in the image of God, we can live together without violence or conflict. Read Matthew 5-7, and you see a blueprint for how that is possible. Jesus brought peace to mankind, but greed, politics, and selfishness have corrupted what God intended for us.

Reference: Scientific American for July/August 2026, pages 10-11.