SUMMARY: Warm-climate Acacia plants and ants are known to help each other out. The plants allow the ants to seek shelter within their hollowed-out thorns and provide them food in the form of nectar and protein. The ants return the favor by viciously attacking anything, ranging from other insects to birds, which may threaten the plants. This is an example of mutualism, a mutually beneficial relationship between two species.One clever bug though has found a way around the ants' defenses in order to freely feed on one species of Acacia. Susan Whitehead of the U. of Colorado wanted to find out how a type of Coreidae bug was able to appear almost invisible to the ants, thus allowing it to reach and feed on Acacia leaves.
Knowing that ants use chemical substances called pheromones to communicate with each other, she wondered if the bugs were mimicking the scent of the ants. Even when the bugs were immobilized, the ants did not attack them. However, when Whitehead and her colleagues washed the bugs in a chemical solvent and returned them to the plants, the ants immediately swarmed the bugs. The researchers then compared the unwashed bugs' exoskeletal chemicals with those of the ants and found they matched, thus showing that ants don't normally recognize the Coreidae bug as a foreign species.
(Picture of Coreidae bug from Wikipedia)
To read the entire article, click on this link to SCIENCE DAILY.
COMMENT: Looking at this story from the viewpoint of evolution theory, several interesting questions emerge. To believe that examples of mutualism just happen naturally, one must think lower forms of life have intelligence enough to figure things out on their own and essentially make deals with each other. Whatever homes these ants had to begin with, they must have determined they could find better housing within the thorns of these Acacia plants.
What about the plants, whose leaves apparently are tasty to several species? How did they survive before the ants came along to offer to protect them in exchange for food and shelter? And, what about those sneaky Coreidae bugs? Was it merely a happy coincidence that they just happen to have exactly the same chemicals in their exoskeletons that the ants possess?
To the unbiased observer, I would think it is most logical to believe these creatures were designed so the species could be maintained. Apparently there are enough Acacia plants that with the help of the ants they can keep from going extinct. And using their gift of trickery, the Coreidae insects in turn are able to find enough Acacia leaves to maintain their species.
This all appears to be God's plan for His creation. Of course, as the universe winds down due to the original sin that brought death and destruction into the world, many species of animals will continue to go extinct. However, the human race will never go extinct. Instead, those who believe that Jesus Christ is their Savior from sin and destruction are assured of living forever in the home He is preparing for us in heaven.
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QUESTION OF THE DAY
How many times can a hummingbird flap its wings per second?
A hummingbird can flap its wings about 80 times per second, and this flapping is what causes the humming sound. Hummingbirds also have the ability to fly left, right, up, down, backwards, or even upside down and can also hover by flapping their wings in a figure-eight pattern.Source: Usefultrivia.com
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