Tag: firefly

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Firefly Frequencies at Work

Firefly Frequencies at Work

There are 56 species of flying lightning bugs, or fireflies, and each emits light of a different frequency. The different firefly frequencies cause different colors, such as green, yellow, or red, but science has found that the frequencies are far more precise than the color. The fact that each species has a particular wavelength allows fireflies to find mates, even in an area where other life forms use bioluminescence.

Fireflies have four stages. They begin as eggs but spend most of their 61-day existence as larvae, eating snails, slugs, and worms. They have a pupa stage just before becoming adults. Bioluminescence serves mainly as a way for males and females to find each other, and having the right frequency is essential in that process. Research is continuing on how the frequencies are specified, but 56 species means that the frequency variation has to be carefully created and controlled.

Most living things have methods of communication that serve multiple purposes. Communication allowing males and females to find each other is always risky because it exposes them to predators. Because fireflies’ flashing is sporadic and not a steady glow, they are less likely to be eaten. If you have tried to catch these flying lightning bugs, you know how hard it is because they flash and run, making them hard to locate.

We can learn many things by studying the natrual world, including the chemistry that allows various firefly frequencies of bioluminescence. In the firefly we see another demonstration of God’s wisdom and intelligence.

Reference: PBS “Nature” program on May 16, 2024.

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Can Design Have Multiple Purposes?

Firefly- Can Design Have Multiple Purposes?
Can design have multiple purposes? That is a question asked by some scientists in a study led by Jesse Barber of Boise (Idaho) State University. The specific design feature they studied is the flashing light of fireflies. Do they have more than one purpose for their flashes?

We always believed that a firefly flashes its light to attract mates. That is reasonable and true, but it is an oversimplification of what the flashing does. Many times living organisms have a warning system built into their design to let predators know they are not good to eat. Barber and his associates suggested that fireflies taste bad and that the flashing warns predators not to eat them.

To test this theory, the researchers put bats that had never been around fireflies into a cage with fireflies. The bats learned in two or three interactions that a flashing bug is not good to eat. Barber says the bats quickly did a routine of “catch, taste, drop.”

Barber’s team then painted the flashing end of some lightning bugs with two coats of black paint so the bats could not see the flashes. Bats faced with the painted fireflies took up to 45 minutes to learn not to try to eat them. It seems evident that the flashing of a lightning bug has more than one function.

Can design have multiple purposes? This study answers that question with a “Yes.” Designing a system that has multiple benefits is engineering at its best. God’s design in nature is amazing! The more we know of the creation, the closer we get to the Creator and the more we see His planning and design.
–John N. Clayton © 2018
This study was published in August 22 Science Advances which you can read HERE.
Science News reported on it in their September 29 issue (page 4) which is available online HERE.

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Meaning of Words

Meaning of Words
One of the problems both skeptics and believers have to deal with is the meaning of words. Words have different meanings depending on where you live and when you live. The phrase “he is gay” has a whole different meaning today than when I was in high school in 1955.

The July issue of Reader’s Digest carried an article about the differences in English word usage and meanings in today’s America. The magazine gave examples of words that mean different things in different geographic locations.

There are also different words used for the same thing in different parts of the country. While in some areas the phrase is “you all” in the south it is more commonly “y’all, ” and in Pennsylvania, it’s “yinz.” In the west, it’s called a drinking fountain, while easterners tend to call it a water fountain, and in Wisconsin, it’s a bubbler. In the west, they are fireflies while in the east and south they are lightning bugs. While in other areas of the country they may be traffic circles or roundabouts, in Massachusetts they are rotaries. In some areas it’s soda, and in others it’s pop. There are many other differences, but you get the idea.

Can you imagine the trouble we have in trying to understanding the full meaning of the Hebrew or Greek words of the Bible texts? It reminds us that when we are dealing with Scripture, we need to consider some important things. We must keep in mind who wrote it, to whom it was written, why it was written, and how the people of that time and place would have understood it. Failing to consider those things has caused many misunderstandings.

Here is one final thing to consider. Not only does the meaning of words and the words we use vary, but also the way we pronounce them can be different. How many syllables do you think there are in the word caramel?
–John N. Clayton © 2017