AWAKE! NO. 1 2017 Says on its back page.
THE Saharan silver ant (Cataglyphis bombycina) is one of the most heat-tolerant land animals known. When the midday Saharan sun forces the ant’s predators to seek shade, the ant makes brief forays from its burrow in search of food, which consists of other insects killed by the intense heat.
The Saharan silver ant’s compound heat shield helps the insect to keep its body temperature below the maximum it can tolerate—128.5 degrees Fahrenheit (53.6°C). Inspired by that tiny creature, researchers are working to develop special coatings that enhance passive cooling—that is, cooling without the aid of fans or other devices.
What do you think? Did the compound heat shield of the Saharan silver ant come about by evolution? Or was it designed?
This article set me thinking so I did a little further cursory reading. It turns out that this ant inhabits a short (10 minute) time frame at about midday in the Sahara. Why? The temperature becomes too hot for lizards at 47 degrees Celsius and too hot for the ants at 53 degrees Celsius. During this 10 minute window the ants scoot out and take the heat affected dead and dying back under ground.
So, did the almighty god say “hmm, look at the Sahara there is a 10 minute gap in activity there at midday. I will invent a creature that can take advantage of all the others in which I made a design flaw. That’s better, it can eat them alive”?
Or
Is it a magnificent example of adaptation in form and behaviour that has made these fascinating animals able to find a niche in time and space that they can successfully thrive?
To me there is only one answer to the question:
What do you think? Did the compound heat shield of the Saharan silver ant come about by evolution? Or was it designed?
And it isn’t creation. What say you?