Insects can be beautiful. Today we want to consider a family of insects with about 180,000 described species. They include many of the most beautiful insects on Earth. They are in the Lepidoptera order, and we call them butterflies and moths.
Before they become butterflies and moths, these insects go through a larval stage as caterpillars.
When the caterpillar has eaten its fill of nutrients from its favorite plant, it goes into a pupal stage and through a complete metamorphosis to become a butterfly or a moth. It is one of the most amazing transformations in nature.
The English word “metamorphosis” is from a Greek word meaning “transformation.” So the caterpillar goes through a dramatic change in form and lifestyle. That word is used in Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:2 to describe the “transfiguration” of Jesus Christ on the mountain where He met with Moses and Elijah. Paul used the word in Romans 12:2, where he describes the “renewing of your mind” to live a beautiful life according to the will of God.
There is much more to say about beautiful insects, but we will conclude our review of these fascinating creatures tomorrow.
Many people fear insects, but those little critters are essential for life on Earth. Although they can be pests, insects perform valuable services, from pollinating the plants that supply our food to removing dead animal carcasses and waste. Yesterday, we looked at mosquitoes and ants. Today we consider the largest insect family – beetles.
We said that even though an estimated 20,000 ant species live almost everywhere on Earth, they are not the largest insect family. Beetle species make up more than one-third of the nearly one million scientifically identified species of insects worldwide. Here are some of the things we have written about beetles.
Someone said God must love beetles because He made so many of them. Although we might think that beetles such as stink bugs are ugly, many are known for their beauty. However, the most beautiful insects are the ones we will examine tomorrow.
The fear of insects is called entomophobia. It’s a phobia affecting nineteen million Americans, making it one of the top fears people have. The insects people most commonly fear are ants, beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and even moths and butterflies. If I selected the insects I dislike the most, they would probably be mosquitoes – at least the female ones. However, we must realize that insects of all varieties are essential for human life, and even mosquitoes serve a useful purpose.
On this website, we have written about insects many times. Instead of having a fear of insects, we would do well to study and learn from them. The following links to some of the insect articles we have posted can help you see that our six-legged friends are fascinating. Let’s start with those dreaded mosquitoes.
Ants and mosquitoes live on every continent except Antarctica. Entomologists estimate there are 20,000 species of ants, but only 13,800 have so far been studied and classified. However, ants don’t hold the record for the largest number of insect species. That honor belongs to another insect family, which we will look at tomorrow.
Trillions of bacteria live in the intestines of every person. Perhaps more disturbing is the suggestion that there are ten times as many bacterial cells in the human body as there are human cells. Remember that bacterial cells are smaller than human cells, but still, that’s a lot. Nobody has actually counted them all, but scientists are certain that the bacterial cells outnumber our body cells. Even though that may sound shocking, the truth is we couldn’t live without them. The collection of microbes inside you is called the microbiome, and it makes food digestion possible and plays an essential role in our immune system.
Every time we eat food, we take in bacteria. Your gut biome acts as the first line of defense in a fully-functional immune response. People often refer to “good bacteria” and “bad bacteria.” That distinction may be misleading because the helpful or harmful ways of those microbes may depend on the circumstances.
Gut bacteria work in the breakdown of carbohydrates. Research indicates that obese people have less diversity in their gut bacteria than lean people have. On the other hand, when gut bacteria digest foods such as eggs and beef, they produce a compound that can boost heart-disease risk. Some germs can make you sick, while others keep you healthy. Sometimes the same bacterial cells in the human body can do either, depending on circumstances.
Helicobacter pylori bacteria are known for causing ulcers in the digestive tract. They are present in the microbiome of half the world’s population. Most people don’t have a problem with stomach ulcers, but it is painful and dangerous for the small number who do. However, researchers have found that the absence of Helicobacter bacteria in the gut may lead to diseases of the esophagus, such as reflux and cancers. Other research has shown that Helicobacter species may help the immune system, even though they may lead to inflammation and ulcers.
So the “good” and “bad” distinction between bacteria may be a false dichotomy. Whether they are beneficial or harmful depends. Bacteria considered “bad” might be neutral or even helpful in certain situations. A person’s health status, stress, diet, and genetics all influence how we react to various bacterial cells in the human body.
Another beneficial use of bacteria could come from research into using them as a medical delivery system to regulate autoimmune diseases. There is a clear answer for those who consider bacteria as all bad and question why God would create them. As science continues to explore the complexity of the system of life, we see God’s wisdom in all of creation.
Discover magazine carried a story titled “Fowls in Love” about two Canada geese nicknamed Arnold and Amelia. Many animals pair up to raise young or for protection. However, evolutionary survival of the fittest fails to explain animals sticking together when one of the pair becomes injured and unable to assist in survival. So do animals fall in love?
The Birdsey Cape Wildlife Center staff in Barnstable, Massachusetts, noticed the male goose limping. He had an open fracture that wouldn’t heal on its own. They caught Arnold and prepared to do surgery to repair his foot. The female goose observed the procedure through the clinic’s sliding glass door. When Arnold awoke from surgery, Amelia was allowed into the room, and she used her beak to preen his feathers. For the next 14 days, Amelia was at the center daily, sharing Arnold’s meals and spending time with him.
After Arnold was released, the staff observed the pair together for two weeks until they left with a passing flock of Canada geese. Do animals fall in love? The article writer concludes that the two geese were in love. The article ends with this statement by the veterinarian who did the surgery, “There has to be some internal motivating force that allows that animal to behave in a particular way, and we call it love – that internal driving force.”
This is a classic example of anthropomorphism, attaching human characteristics to an animal. The biblical concept of love is spelled out uniquely in the New Testament by the Greek word “agape,” meaning to consider the object of one’s attention to be of incredible worth. Jesus used agape in His teachings, and we find it in New Testament references to marriage. Human marriage is not just for survival.
We have numerous geese where we live on the St. Joseph river in Michigan. They are always in pairs, and getting near to one of them or their chicks invites an attack from the mate. Raccoons learn to avoid pairs but will go after an isolated goose or chick. Do animals fall in love, or is there a survival reason?
God has placed an instinctive drive in geese to maximize their chances of survival and success in raising young. The bond between Arnold and Amelia demonstrates how strong the instinctive drive is. It is not the biblical concept of love. When Jesus tells his followers to love their enemies and not resist evil (Matthew 5:38-45), He tells them to do something animals cannot do.
What does it take to enable an octopus to use all eight arms efficiently? Each arm may be in contact with a different substance, and they are soft and pliable, so they can bend and twist in response to whatever stimuli they receive. As a result, each octopus arm moves as if it has its own brain.
Researchers recently discovered that the arms gather data and move independently or with other arms without consulting the octopus’s brain. The octopus has a central brain connected to a nerve ring that connects to each arm. In addition to the arms’ connections to the brain, a nerve connects each arm to another, located two arms away. This arrangement allows each arm to communicate directly with others and with the central brain. The arm’s connections to other arms allow rapid communication to function quickly and efficiently.
Researchers are still studying how the octopus puts all this together to move eight arms in a well-coordinated way. Roger Hanlon, a researcher with the Marine Biological Laboratory, said, “We are in that intriguing ‘mild state of confusion’ that is simultaneously perplexing and exhilarating when unexpected discoveries are revealed.”
God’s design of every form of life is amazing and offers much for science to study and learn. Our understanding of how nerves function and how the brain interprets the signals it receives from the nerves is still in a primitive stage. However, we know that each octopus arm moves as if it has its own brain, making the octopus a very complex and intelligent animal. We see God’s wisdom and creative ability displayed in every form of life.
When I was in high school, a required health course involved a plastic model of the human body with the skin removed and all the organs visible. We named the model “Oscar” and tried to change the arrangement of the organs. We learned that correct internal organ placement is essential, and the heart is on the left.
Getting all the organs into Oscar was difficult because they were hard plastic, and not all organs are symmetrical. We learned that there were reasons for the human body’s design, and the heart is on the left, but we didn’t know why?
We learned there is a reason for the brain to be at the top of the body to avoid a stroke. The pressure in a column of liquid is greater at the bottom than at the top. For that reason, a blood vessel can rupture in our feet but still not be critical to our survival. If our brain were in the lower part of the body, a broken blood vessel would lead to a stroke.
So what determines where our organs are placed? A recent study led by Harvard Medical School researchers gave some answers to that question. In early embryonic development, a cluster of cells called the left-right organizer contains some hair-like structures called motile cilia. They sense the biomechanical forces that shape the body plan. The cilia beat rapidly, moving extracellular fluid in the correct direction to move organs to the proper place to function most efficiently. They are the reason why the heart is on the left side.
Incorrect left-right placement of the internal organs can result in various disorders, including heterotaxy syndrome and primary ciliary dyskinesia. These disorders can cause recurring respiratory infections and congenital heart disease.
In Psalms 139:10-14, David speaks of God’s right hand forming him in the womb. In verse 14, David says, “I will praise you, God, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” The more we learn about how our bodies are designed and formed, the more we understand the truth of that statement.
If you remember your high school biology course, you may recall two organelles within the cell. One is mitochondria, which produce energy for the cell. The other is the endoplasmic reticulum which assembles the proteins to carry out the cell’s job. So naturally, any process as complex as those organelles do will produce some waste byproducts, some of which are toxic. Autophagy is the process of how cells dispose of waste.
In 2016 Dr. Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work in understanding the process. Autophagy degrades some mitochondria and carries out the removal of toxins. The name comes from Greek words that mean “self-eating.” New autophagy research is critical because disease prevention requires efficiently removing toxins from the cell. If autophagy is reduced or impaired, it can start or catalyze the growth of cancerous cells. Scientific understanding of how cells dispose of waste by autophagy may also improve the treatment of other diseases.
The description of autophagy we received in high school biology was greatly simplified, and even scientists today still have much to learn. According to current researchers, “the cell is a complex driver of machinery which is continually being built, put into motion, and eventually broken down.” We know that any machine must be carefully designed and manufactured in a controlled way. That means the living cell is a clear example of the complexity of life.
Creating life required clever engineering and great attention to detail.Autophagy is just one part of what God designed into all living cells. Proverbs 8 personifies “Wisdom” describing her involvement in God’s creative process. That wisdom is apparent in how cells dispose of waste.
George Gaylord Simpson wrote in his book The Meaning of Evolution (1949), “It is already evident that all the objective phenomena of the history of life can be explained by purely naturalistic…materialistic factors.” In other words, neo-Darwinism explains life. With that in mind, he writes, “Therefore, man is the result of a purposeless and natural process that did not have him in mind.” Despite Simpson’s confidence, does naturalistic evolution explain life?
It is worth noting that Simpson began the paragraph from which I took the above quotes with these words, “Although many details remain to be worked out…” That is an understatement! Those who insist that naturalistic, materialistic evolution explains life completely are purposely overlooking “many details.” Does naturalistic evolution explain life? Here are a few of the problems with that explanation:
The Origin of Sexual Reproduction- Most plants and animals reproduce sexually, requiring both male and female gametes. How did this complex process originate and continue?
The Lack of Transitional Fossils– If the evolution of all life has been a gradual process, why don’t we see an abundance of fossils showing transitional stages between life forms? How can you explain the sudden appearance of life forms, such as in the “Cambrian Explosion,” which Darwin admitted was a mystery?
The Development of Irreducibly Complex Molecular Machines– They exist within every living cell and require every part to be in place for them to function. Therefore, explaining their origin through a step-by-step process seems impossible.
Mathematical Difficulties- Mathematicians have calculated that the number of gradual changes required to go from unicellular life to all of the diverse life forms, including humans, would be mathematically impossible within the span of Earth’s 4.5 billion years of existence.
Barriers Between the Types of Life Forms- It is possible with intelligent breeding to produce new varieties of dogs, cows, or roses. However, they are still dogs, cows, or roses. The evidence for one type of living creature evolving into another life form is lacking.
Those are just a few of the details that “remain to be worked out.” Darwin recognized some of them, such as the biological big bang of the Cambrian era and the lack of intermediate fossils. He expected those details would be resolved in the future. More than a century and a half later, there is still no resolution to those problems, and many more have been added to the list.
Does naturalistic evolution explain life? Many scientists accept it because the scientific community would shun them if they didn’t. Others accept it not because of its explanatory power but because they see no acceptable alternative. So when someone says that evolution has disproven the need for God, remind them that these are only a few of the reasons why naturalistic evolution falls short of explaining why we are here.
As a teenager, it was frustrating that I was supposed to spend a third of my time asleep. I thought of sleep as a great time waster when there were so many things I wanted to do. I thought I could accomplish much more by staying awake.
The truth is that humans need sleep, and so do all animals. Birds, fish, and even insects need periods of dormancy to survive. Even plants need “sleep.” Sunlight empowers photosynthesis in plants to produce the nutrients they need for survival and growth. Therefore, it seems that plants should grow faster if they had sunlight 24 hours a day. Not so. If you set up an indoor garden with artificial lights, you will find that the plants need dark periods. You can even change the “seasons” for the plants by varying the percentage of darkness and light.
Instead of seeing sleep as a great time waster, we know that it is a vital biological process essential for the survival and well-being of living things. Sleep is necessary to maintain good health by restoring and repairing the body’s tissues and organs. During sleep, the body produces hormones that help repair damaged tissues and build new ones. Sleep plays a critical role in the immune system, as it helps the body produce cytokines, a type of protein required to fight infection and inflammation.
Sleep is also crucial for the regulation of metabolic processes. Working with our circadian rhythm, sleep helps to regulate appetite and energy balance. Sleep deprivation can lead to increased hunger and decreased production of hormones that regulate appetite, such as leptin and ghrelin. This can lead to weight gain and obesity, increasing the risk of developing several chronic health conditions.
Sleep is essential for more than just physical well-being. During sleep, our brain processes and consolidates memories and data acquired during awake times. The lack of sleep can impair attention, memory, decision-making, and emotions. Sleep aids in the consolidation of learning and the formation of new memories. During sleep, the brain replays and consolidates memories from the previous day, helping to strengthen and make them more resistant to forgetting.
Now that I am old, I appreciate sleep much more than I did as a teenager. I no longer see sleep as a great time waster but as a blessing from God. I have found that some of my best ideas come to me at night. I can wake up with a new idea or a fresh way of looking at things. Sleep has cleared away the fog in my mind so I can see things I had overlooked.
I am also thankful that God doesn’t sleep. We can sleep because He is our protector 24/7/365. Psalms 121:3b-4 says, “He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” So when our melatonin level increases and our circadian clock tells us it’s time to sleep, we can rest knowing that God is still at work keeping the world going. “The Lord’s love never ends; his mercies never stop. They are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23 NCV).
