Friday, February 01, 2008

Isn't evolution wonderful? — 4


We learn that this newly-discovered species of orchid "has evolved to resemble the body of a female wasp." Darned clever of it, eh? Particularly never having seen the body of a female wasp... or anything else?

But it isn't the only smart plant. "Other orchid species have evolved to use similar cunning to attract male wasps, such as emitting an airborne chemical that mimics a female's pheromone."

Isn't evolution wonderful?

< /s >

O LORD, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures
(Psalm 104:24)

(For explanation of the series title, see here.)

16 comments:

Fred Butler said...

Are those the ants that when they bite you, the sting is so painful it is like how it feels if you are shot with a .44?

Malcolm said...

Thanks for the post. I have to wonder though, isn't this an ant-ocaust to pour concrete into their habitat? And where is AlGore leading a crusade against the man made destruction of this ecosystem?

;)

Terry Rayburn said...

After this Science special, the ants in the little acorn were intereviewed about the mega-chur...errr...mega-colony, and now they are studying how they can become a mega-colony.

The little ants were particularly intrigued by the narrator's dual concepts of "Purpose" and air-conditioning. It's stuffy in those little acorns.

DJP said...

If you look at the comments there, you see a lot of people very seriously exercised and wrought up over just that thing. Then you see that the few who timidly tried to point to God got their comments shouted down and hidden.

And I'll take the occasion of your humor to say that this meta won't be allowed to get ensnared that way. The pro-Romans-1 crowd has plenty of internet representation.

DJP said...

Terry — LOL.

Maybe they'll move in the direction of a "Stinger-sensitive" colony.

Anonymous said...

Remember the old 70's phrase, that "Drugs are for people who can't face reality"?

Well, these days it's "Evolution is for people who can't face God."

threegirldad said...

Great series and thanks for the video links! My favorite example of refusing to see the obvious is the bombardier beetle. Here's a short video.

Stefan Ewing said...

That ant colony looked like some kind of alien life form had taken over the ranch. It gave me the heebie-jeebies, quite frankly!

Even better and simpler (and less freakish) examples of the Sovereign Lord's design work are the hexagonal honeycombs and spiderwebs.

Stefan Ewing said...

Beavers with their lodges and dams too, come to think of it.

S.J. Walker said...

Dan,

Thanks Brother for posting this. What a marvel. "Consider the ant..." What troubles me too is what I read in the comments back at youtube. It's heartbreaking.

There is gentleman that is often around where I work. I work in a downtown district. He must have teretz (sp?) or something along those lines. Most of the time he's quiet and can even be pleasant. But many times I her him outside wlaking down the street or ally shouting one or two repeated obscenities over and over. It also is a heartrending site.

He is caught in a twisted trap of his mind from which he has no escape but for a miracle. Soberingly, I find the same situation when I read down threads like that one, or even simply look at my soul before Christ invaded it.

Thanks Dan

DJP said...

Mm; spiritual Tourette's.

S.J. Walker said...

Ah, thanks! I were home teached, u no?

Anonymous said...

Look to the plants thou dotard. And become learned, wise and cunning, for surely they art wiser than even that wasp...

How can I be sure that I'm really married, maybe some cunning old venus fly trap has merely taken on the form of a woman and ensnared me...

It's gets sad, doesn't it?

Jay said...

Fascinating, and quite beautiful. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for verses that proclaim the glory of the Lord's creation.

threegirldad said...

I'm posting this comment at Dan's request. I sent him an email to let him know that the comments for "Isn't evolution wonderful? - 3" somehow got posted into this entry by mistake. When he tried to get to his blog to correct it, he discovered that his work is suddenly blocking access to Blogger sites. It will be this evening at the earliest before he can fix the problem.

David A. Carlson said...

My first conscious turn to God was when I accepted the beauty of God's creation - the proverbial "rocks cried out" moment. I knew God was real.

Didn't know Jesus yet. But I knew God was real and the creator of all things.