THE TAIL OF THE AGAMA LIZARD

THE agama jumps from a horizontal surface onto a vertical wall with ease. But if that surface is slippery, the lizard loses its footing, yet it still makes a successful landing on the wall. How? The secret is in the lizard’s tail.

Consider: When agamas jump from a coarse surface—which provides grip—they first stabilize their body and keep their tail downward. This helps them to jump at the correct angle. When on a slippery surface, though, the lizards tend to stumble and jump at the wrong angle. However, in midair, they correct the angle of their body by flicking their tail upward. The process is intricate. “Lizards must actively adjust the angle of their tails just right to remain upright,” says a report released by the University of California, Berkeley. The more slippery the platform, the more the lizard must raise its tail to ensure a safe landing.

The agama’s tail may help engineers design more-agile robotic vehicles that can be used to search for survivors in the aftermath of an earthquake or other catastrophe. “Robots are not nearly as agile as animals,” says researcher Thomas Libby, “so anything that can make a robot more stable is an advancement.”

What do you think? Did the agama’s tail come about by evolution? Or was it designed?

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A DESIGNER OF ROBOTS EXPLAINS HIS FAITH

INTERVIEW | MASSIMO TISTARELLI

                 Taken from AWAKE magazine February 2013

Professor Massimo Tistarelli is a scientist at the University of Sassari in Italy. He is an associate editor of three international science magazines and has coauthored more than a hundred scientific papers. He studies how humans recognize faces and do such seemingly simple things as catching a ball. He then designs visual systems for robots—systems that imitate what we do. Awake! asked him about his faith and his work as a scientist.

What is your religious background?

My parents were nonpracticing Catholics. As a young man, I leaned toward atheism. I was taught that life originated by means of evolution, and I accepted that as fact. Yet, even though I did not believe in a personal Creator, I felt that there must be something higher than us. In order to find out what, I explored Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, but I found their teachings to be unsatisfactory.

What led to your interest in science?

From childhood, I was fascinated with machines. I even used to take my electric toys apart and reassemble them. And I would ply my father, a telecommunications engineer, with endless questions about how radios and telephones work.

What has your career as a scientist involved?

I studied electronic engineering at the University of Genoa, and then I did doctoral research in robot design. I specialized in studying the human visual system and in devising ways to imitate it for the design of robots.

Why did our visual system interest you?

It is incredibly sophisticated, encompassing much more than the eyes—it even includes the means to interpret what we see. For example, consider what happens when you catch a ball. As you run to make the catch, the lens of your eye focuses an image of the ball onto your retina. That image will move across your retina in a way that depends on the movement of both the ball and your eye. Normally, of course, you keep your eye fixed on the ball. Its image then becomes stationary on your retina while the background “moves.”

At the same time, your visual system calculates the speed of the ball and its trajectory. Amazingly, the calculations start right there in the retina as your eye estimates the movement of the ball in relation to its background. Your optic nerve then transmits the impulses formed by the retina to your brain, which further analyzes the information and directs you to intercept the ball. The whole process is breathtaking in its complexity.

What persuaded you to believe in a Creator?

In 1990, I spent a few months in Dublin, Ireland, doing research at Trinity College. As I was traveling home with my wife, Barbara, we considered the future of our children. We also decided to visit my sister who was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. My sister gave me a copy of the book Life—How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation? published by the Witnesses. The careful research that had gone into this work impressed me. It then dawned on me that I had accepted evolution without really questioning it. For example, I had assumed that evolution was well supported by the fossil record. But it is not. Indeed, the more I examined evolution, the more I became convinced that the theory is more bluster than fact.

I thought about my work with robots. Whose designs was I imitating?

Then I thought about my work with robots. Whose designs was I imitating? I could never design a robot capable of catching a ball as we can. A robot can be programmed to catch a ball, but only in precisely controlled conditions. It cannot do so in circumstances for which it has not been programmed. Our ability to learn is vastly superior to that of a machine—and mere machines have makers! This fact is just one of many that led me to conclude that we must have had a Designer.

Why did you become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?

In part, it was because Barbara and I liked their thorough study methods. I was especially impressed with the research that goes into their publications. Solid research appeals to people like me, who want to probe into the details of things. For example, I became deeply interested in the many prophecies, or predictions, in the Bible. My study of those convinced me that the Bible really is from God. In 1992, Barbara and I were baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Has your study of science weakened your faith?

 On the contrary, science has strengthened my faith. For example, consider how we recognize faces. A baby can do this within hours after birth. You and I can instantly recognize someone we know, even if he is in a crowd. We may even discern his emotional state. Yet, we may be completely unaware that this recognition involves the processing of a phenomenal amount of information at an incredible speed.

Yes, I am fully convinced that our visual system is a precious gift from Jehovah God. His gifts, which include the Bible, move me to thank him and to talk about him to others. After all, my sense of justice tells me that he should get the credit for his productions

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SANITARY INSPECTORS OF THE SKIES

If asked to name the bird they would least like to meet, many would say the vulture.

Few birds have been so vilified as the vulture. It is the accursed bird whose sinister silhouette wheels over the dead and the dying. Its appearance is said to herald carnage, desolation, and despair. But such is the stuff of fiction.

As for the facts: Many have been enthralled by the vulture’s grace in flight and the tender way it cares for its young. They have also discerned its important ecological role. To such ones the vulture is both magnificent and indispensable.

Admittedly, vultures have a few things against them, apart from their unsavory feeding habits. They would certainly not win any beauty contests, and their calls have been variously described as squeals, cackles, grunts, croaks, and hisses. They do, however, have some endearing qualities.

The vulture is a bird that takes parenthood very seriously. Every year an “only child” receives the undivided attention of both parents until it can fend for itself. A young vulture chick perched helplessly for several months on an inaccessible ledge certainly needs the compassionate care of both parents. In fact, a young Andean condor has to be fed for six months before it can leave the nest, by which time the “chick” is nearly full-grown.

And vultures have the virtue of being eminently useful. Although many birds benefit mankind in one way or another, vultures perform a unique service. They are sanitary inspectors of the skies.

Sanitary Inspection

Cleaning up carcasses is not everybody’s idea of a favorite daily chore, but it is an important job. Proper sanitation requires the prompt removal of dead bodies, which can be dangerous sources of infectious diseases for both man and beast.

Here the vultures come into their own. Even meat contaminated with anthrax or botulin is gobbled up with impunity, until nothing remains but the bones.

Some vultures even specialize in eating bones. The lammergeier vulture of Eurasia and Africa drops bones from a height onto a rocky surface. When the bones split open, the lammergeier eats the marrow and the smaller pieces of bone.

Fortunately, unlike their human counterparts, these sanitary inspectors have never gone on strike. If the vultures’ work was left undone, tropical plains littered with disease-ridden carcasses would be a familiar sight.

But let us follow a team of vultures on a typical workday.

Skyway Patrol

Soon after sunrise, they take to the skies, each one to cover a certain area. Throughout the day our squadron of vultures tirelessly patrols the skies in search of dead animals. When a carcass is finally spotted by one of their number, he goes into a steep dive. This attracts the attention of the other birds, who also hasten to the spoil. Within minutes, dozens of birds arrive at the scene.

Before eating, the birds hop around the carcass hesitantly. Despite their reputation, they are extremely shy creatures. Finally, one of them starts tearing at the carcass, and this is the signal for the whole group to attack the meal. There is a lot of squabbling and hissing, pushing and pulling, which looks uncannily like a rugby football scrum. The hungriest, who protest the most energetically, usually get fed first. If it is a large carcass, there will be enough food for all.

In a matter of minutes, the meal is over, and leaving only the bones, the flock takes to the sky to continue the search. A vulture’s life is not an easy one. It may be two or three days before they have another meal.

Eyesight and Teamwork

Vultures are admirably equipped for aerial surveillance. Their massive wings are perfectly designed for gliding and soaring, enabling them to fly for hours with barely a wing beat. They are adept at taking advantage of thermals, or rising hot-air currents, which serve to keep them aloft with minimal effort. Dean Amadon, prominent American ornithologist, described them as one of “nature’s most eloquent expressions of flight.”

A question that intrigued ornithologists for many years was, How do vultures find carcasses so quickly?

The answer turned out to be a combination of sharp eyesight and teamwork. It has been calculated that a vulture circling overhead at a height of about 2,500 feet [750 m] can spot an object on the ground that is less than five inches [13 cm] long. But even with such penetrating vision, a lone vulture would be hard-pressed to find food.

Hence, teamwork is essential. It has been observed that vultures divide up to patrol different areas. If one vulture descends toward a carcass, his distinctive swoop is the signal to nearby birds that food is in the offing, and they immediately fly in that direction. Their change of course is likewise spotted by more distant birds, who also hasten to the scene. This aerial telegraph system is surprisingly efficient, so much so that it may appear to an observer that all the birds arrive almost simultaneously.

Sadly, such efficiency and undeniable usefulness have not sufficed to guarantee the vultures’ protection and survival.

The Return of the Condor

Despite being counted among the largest and most impressive birds of prey, vultures are facing extinction in many parts of the world. Their traditional food has disappeared from the plains, and not infrequently the carcasses they do find have been poisoned. Their slow breeding rate also makes it difficult for their decimated populations to recover.

Nevertheless, there are some heartening success stories. A program for the artificial breeding of California condors seems to be proving successful, and it is hoped that more birds can soon be returned to the wild. Thanks to the efforts of French conservationists, the griffon vulture has reestablished itself in the Massif Central, France, after an absence of many years.

Thus, the bird that people once loved to hate has become a symbol of man’s efforts to save those species that he has endangered. Undoubtedly, the majestic flight of the condor over the sierras of North and South America is a sight too precious to squander.

Meanwhile, in Africa and Asia, the vultures still unassumingly perform their thankless task, that of sanitary inspectors of the skies.

 

Vultures on Record

  VULTURES are counted among the rarest and largest birds of the world. And they hold the avian altitude record as well.

  The California condor is one of the most endangered species in the world. To save this vulture from extinction, strenuous efforts are being made through a breeding program among the two dozen birds in captivity. In 1986 only three California condors were left in the wild.

  The Andean condor, along with the marabou stork of Africa, has the greatest wingspan of all land birds, over ten feet [3 m]. It is also the heaviest bird of prey, sometimes weighing in at over 30 pounds [14 kg].

  Vultures are high fliers as well. In 1973 an African vulture (Gyps rueppellii) collided with an aircraft that was flying over Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, at an altitude of 37,000 feet [11,300 m].

 

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THE HUMAN MIRACLE

     OF ALL the marvelous things on earth, none is more astounding than the human brain. For example, every second some 100 million bits of information pour into the brain from the various senses. But how can it avoid being hopelessly buried by this avalanche? If we can think about only one thing at a time, how does the mind cope with these millions of simultaneous messages? Obviously, the mind not only survives the barrage but handles it with ease.

 How it does so is only one of the many wonders of the human brain. Two factors are involved. First, in the brain stem there is a network of nerves the size of your little finger. This network is called the reticular formation. It acts as a kind of traffic control center, monitoring the millions of messages coming into the brain, sifting out the trivial and selecting the essential for attention by the cerebral cortex. Each second this little network of nerves permits only a few hundred, at most, to enter the conscious mind.

 Second, a further pinpointing of our attention seems to come about by waves that sweep the brain 8 to 12 times per second. These waves cause periods of high sensitivity, during which the brain notes the stronger signals and acts upon them. It is believed that by means of these waves the brain scans itself, in this way focusing on the essentials. Thus an amazing flurry of activity is going on in our heads every second!

Something “to Wonder At”

  In recent years scientists have made tremendous strides in studies of the brain. Even so, what they have learned is nothing compared to what remains unknown. One researcher said that, after thousands of years of speculation and recent decades of intensive scientific research, our brains, along with the universe, remain “essentially mysterious.”  Certainly the human brain is easily the most mysterious part of the human miracle—“miracle” meaning something “to wonder at.”

 The wonder begins in the womb. Three weeks after conception brain cells start forming. They grow in spurts, at times up to 250,000 cells a minute. After birth the brain continues growing and forming its network of connections. The gulf separating the human brain from that of any animal quickly manifests itself: “The brain of the human infant, unlike that of any other animal, triples in size during its first year,” states the book The Universe Within.  In time, about 100 billion nerve cells, called neurons, as well as other types of cells, are packed into a human brain, although it makes up only 2 percent of the body’s weight.

 The key brain cells—the neurons—do not actually touch one another. They are separated by synapses, tiny spaces less than one millionth of an inch across. These gaps are bridged by chemicals called neurotransmitters, 30 of which are known, but the brain may possess many more. These chemical signals are received at one end of the neuron by a maze of tiny filaments called dendrites. The signals are then transmitted at the other end of the neuron by a nerve fiber called an axon. In the neurons the signals are electrical, but across the gaps they are chemical. Thus the transmission of nerve signals is electrochemical in nature. Each impulse is of the same strength, but the intensity of the signal depends upon the frequency of the impulses, which may be as high as one thousand a second.

  It is not certain just what physiological changes take place in the brain when we learn. But experimental evidence suggests that as we learn, especially in early life, better connections are formed, and more of the chemicals bridging the gaps between neurons are released. Continued use strengthens the connections, and thus learning is reinforced. “Pathways that are often activated together are strengthened in some way,” reports Scientific American.  Interesting on this point is the Bible’s comment that deeper matters are more easily understood by mature people “who through use have their perceptive powers trained.” (Hebrews 5:14) Research has revealed that unused mental powers fade away. Thus the brain, like a muscle, is strengthened by use and weakened by disuse.

  The vast numbers of microscopic nerve fibers making these connections within the brain are often referred to as its “wiring.” They are precisely placed within a maze of staggering complexity. But how they are placed in the exact spots called for by the “wiring diagrams” is a mystery. “Undoubtedly the most important unresolved issue in the development of the brain,” one scientist said, “is the question of how neurons make specific patterns of connections. . . . Most of the connections seem to be precisely established at an early stage of development.”  Another researcher adds that these specifically mapped-out areas of the brain “are common throughout the nervous system, and how this precise wiring is laid down remains one of the great unsolved problems.”

  The number of these connections is astronomical! Each neuron may have thousands of connections with other neurons. Not only are there connections between neurons, but there are also microcircuits that are set up directly between the dendrites themselves. “These ‘microcircuits,’” says one neurologist, “add a totally new dimension to our already mind-boggling conception of how the brain works.”  Some researchers believe that the “billions upon billions of nerve cells in the human brain make perhaps as many as a quadrillion connections.”  With what capacity? Carl Sagan states that the brain could hold information that “would fill some twenty million volumes, as many as in the world’s largest libraries.”

  It is the cerebral cortex of the brain that sets man far apart from any animal. It is less than a quarter of an inch thick, and it forms a fissured mold snug against the skull. If laid out, the cortex would measure about two and a half square feet, with some ten thousand miles of connecting fibers per cubic inch. The human cortex not only is far bigger than that of any animal, but it also has a much larger uncommitted area. That is to say, it is not committed to handling the physical functions of the body but is free for the higher mental processes that separate people from animals. “We are not just smarter apes,” one researcher said. Our minds “make us qualitatively different from all other forms of life.”

Our Far Greater Capability

  “What distinguishes the human brain,” a scientist said, “is the variety of more specialized activities it is capable of learning.” Computer science uses the term “hardwired” to refer to built-in characteristics based on fixed circuitry, in contrast to functions put into a computer by a programmer. “Applied to human beings,” one authority writes, “hard wiring refers to innate abilities or, at least, predispositions.”  In people there are many built-in capacities for learning, but not the learning itself. Animals, by contrast, have hardwired instinctive wisdom, but limited capacities to learn new things.

  The Universe Within notes that the most intelligent animal “never develops a mind like that of a human being. For it lacks what we have: preprogramming of our neural equipment that enables us to form concepts out of what we see, language out of what we hear, and thoughts out of our experiences.” But we must, by input from our surroundings, program the brain, otherwise, as the book states, “nothing resembling the human mind would develop . . . Without that immense infusion of experience, scarcely a trace of intellect would appear.”  So the capability that is built into the human brain enables us to construct the human intellect. And, unlike animals, we have the free will to program our intellects as we choose, based on our own knowledge, values, opportunities and goals.

Language Unique to Humans

 An outstanding example of hardwired capabilities with great flexibility for programming by us is language. Specialists agree that “the human brain is genetically programmed for language development,” and that speech “can be explained only on the basis of an innate language-processing capacity within our brain.”   Unlike the rigidity that is displayed in the instinctive behavior of animals, however, there is tremendous flexibility in a human’s use of this hardwired capacity for language.

  A specific language is not hardwired into our brains, but we are preprogrammed with the capacity for learning languages. If two languages are spoken in the home, a child can learn both. If exposed to a third language, the child can learn it also. One girl was exposed to a number of languages from babyhood. By the time she was five she spoke eight fluently. In view of such innate abilities it is no surprise that a linguist said that chimpanzee experiments with sign language “actually prove that chimps are incapable of even the most rudimentary forms of human language.”

  Could such an amazing ability have evolved from the grunts and growls of animals? Studies of the most ancient languages rule out any such evolution of language. One specialist said that “there are no primitive languages.” Anthropologist Ashley Montagu agreed that so-called primitive languages “are often a great deal more complex and more efficient than the languages of the so-called higher civilizations.”

  One neurologist concludes: “The more we attempt to investigate the mechanism of language, the more mysterious the process becomes.” Another researcher says: “At present the origin of syntactic speech remains a mystery.”  And a third states: “The power of speech, moving men and nations as no other force, uniquely sets humans apart from animals. Yet, the origins of language remain one of the brain’s most baffling mysteries.”  It is no mystery, however, to those who see in it the hand of a Creator who “hardwired” areas in the brain for language capabilities.

Things Only Creation Can Explain

  The Encyclopædia Britannica states that man’s brain “is endowed with considerably more potential than is realizable in the course of one person’s lifetime. “ It also has been stated that the human brain could take any load of learning and memory put on it now, and a billion times that! But why would evolution produce such an excess? “This is, in fact, the only example in existence where a species was provided with an organ that it still has not learned how to use,” admitted one scientist. He then asked: “How can this be reconciled with evolution’s most fundamental thesis: Natural selection proceeds in small steps, each of which must confer on its bearer a minimal, but nonetheless measurable, advantage?” He added that the human brain’s development “remains the most inexplicable aspect of evolution.” Since the evolutionary process would not produce and pass on such excessive never-to-be-used brain capacity, is it not more reasonable to conclude that man, with the capacity for endless learning, was designed to live forever?

  Carl Sagan, amazed that the human brain could hold information that “would fill some twenty million volumes,” stated: “The brain is a very big place in a very small space.”  And what happens in this small space defies human understanding. For example, imagine what must be going on in the brain of a pianist playing a difficult musical composition, with all fingers flying over the keys. What an astonishing sense of movement his brain must have, to order the fingers to strike the right keys at the right time with the right force to match the notes in his head! And if he hits a wrong note, the brain immediately lets him know about it! All this incredibly complex operation has been programmed into his brain by years of practice. But it is made possible only because musical capability was preprogrammed into the human brain from birth.

  No animal brain ever conceived such things, much less is able to do them. Nor does any evolutionary theory provide an explanation. Is it not evident that man’s intellectual qualities mirror those of a Supreme Intellect? This harmonizes with Genesis 1:27, which states: “God proceeded to create the man in his image.” The animals were not created in God’s image. That is why they do not have the capabilities man has. Though animals do amazing things by predetermined, rigid instincts, they are no match at all for humans with their flexibility in thinking and acting and their ability to continually build on previous knowledge.

  The human capacity for altruism—unselfish giving—creates another problem for evolution. As one evolutionist noted: “Anything that has evolved by natural selection should be selfish.” And many humans are selfish, of course. But as he later acknowledged: “It is possible that yet another unique quality of man is a capacity for genuine, disinterested, true altruism.”  Another scientist added: “Altruism is built into us.”  Only in humans is it practiced with an awareness of the cost, or sacrifice, that may be involved.

Appreciating the Human Miracle

  Just consider: Man originates abstract thinking, consciously sets goals, makes plans to reach them, initiates work to carry them out and finds satisfaction in their accomplishment. Created with an eye for beauty, an ear for music, a flair for art, an urge to learn, an insatiable curiosity, and an imagination that invents and creates—man finds joy and fulfillment in exercising these gifts. He is challenged by problems, and delights in using his mental and physical powers to solve them. A moral sense to determine right and wrong and a conscience to prick him when he strays—these too man has. He finds happiness in giving, and joy in loving and being loved. All such activities enhance his pleasure in living and give purpose and meaning to his life.

  A human can contemplate the plants and animals, the grandeur of the mountains and oceans around him, the vastness of the starry heavens above him, and feel his smallness. He is aware of time and eternity, wonders how he got here and where he is going, and gropes to understand what is behind it all. No animal entertains such thoughts. But a human seeks the whys and wherefores of things. All of this results from his being endowed with an awesome brain and his bearing the “image” of the One who made him.

  With amazing insight, the ancient psalmist David gave credit to the One who designed the brain and whom he considered to be responsible for the miracle of human birth. He said: “I shall laud you because in a fear-inspiring way I am wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, as my soul is very well aware. My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was woven in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw even the embryo of me, and in your book all its parts were down in writing.”—Psalm 139:14-16.

  Truly, it can be said that the fertilized egg in the mother’s womb contains all the parts of the emerging human body “down in writing.” The heart, the lungs, the kidneys, the eyes and ears, the arms and legs, and the awesome brain—these and all the other parts of the body were ‘written down’ in the genetic code of the fertilized egg in the mother’s womb. Contained in this code are internal timetables for the appearance of these parts, each one in its proper order. This fact was recorded in the Bible nearly three thousand years before modern science ever discovered the genetic code!

  Is not the existence of man with his amazing brain truly a miracle, a cause for wonderment? Is it not also evident that such a miracle can be accounted for only by creation, not evolution?

 

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BEAUTY IN THE AIR

HER fine silky hair bouncing in the breeze, the little girl pursues her “prey”—a lovely, delicate butterfly. Joining in her little game, the butterfly obligingly alights on this flower and that. Then, as if to tease, it flies away just as the tiny cupped hands are about to capture it. Suddenly, our little friend has an idea: Instead of noisily scrambling after the elusive butterfly, she slowly and quietly approaches it as it rests on a pretty wildflower. Wide-eyed, she is rewarded with a wonderful close-up view of one of the most colorful of God’s creations.

Shall we join her? Our own appreciation of this winged masterpiece will also grow.

Look Closely

See the three basic body sections? (See page 18.) First, there is the head with its characteristic pair of clubbed antennae. These aid the senses of smell, touch, and perhaps even hearing. They help the butterfly locate its favorite food or a mate. Also, we note two large compound eyes capable of panoramic sight in full color. Can you see what looks like a tube rolled up and tucked under its head? This long tongue is called a proboscis. It uncoils to enable the butterfly to sip sweet nectar from flowers or taste other favorite foods.

The midsection of the body is called the thorax. Four lovely wings are attached here. The vibrant colors and intricate patterns that we see are actually produced by hundreds of tiny scales, each connected to a socket on the wing. These colored plates contain air, which makes the wing lightweight and acts as an excellent insulator for temperature control.

Three pairs of legs are also connected to the thorax. The legs have bristles that help many butterflies to respond to sounds.

Adult butterflies also have ‘taste buds’ on their feet. Researchers have found that when a butterfly’s feet touch something sweet, the tongue automatically uncoils, ready to feed. The North American monarch butterfly has taste organs in its feet that are 2,000 times more sensitive than the human tongue!

The last major body division is the abdomen, which contains the digestive system and the reproductive organs. Look closely at the segments of the abdomen, and you’ll see little holes through which a butterfly breathes. These are called spiracles.

A Master of Change

The butterfly we observe poised on the flower has not always been as delicate or as graceful. It has experienced some rapid and dramatic changes in form. This process of development is called complete metamorphosis. Drastic changes take place between the different stages of the one living organism.

Depending on the kind of butterfly, life begins as a tiny egg laid on the leaf of a plant that will be eaten by the larva—or better known by its other name, caterpillar—when it hatches. Some eggs may develop into caterpillars within three short days. Other eggs laid in the fall will pass the winter before hatching.

Once free of its eggshell home, the hungry caterpillar proceeds to devour the empty shell. Then it turns its attention to the host plant. The little creature is a virtual eating machine as it gorges itself to store up enough food to last through the lean days ahead. Butterfly specialists claim that if a six-pound human baby would gain weight at the same rate as caterpillars, at the end of two weeks the baby would tip the scales at eight tons!

Inevitably, as the caterpillar satisfies its voracious appetite, its body expands, and it literally outgrows its skin. Typically, a caterpillar will split and shed its skin four or five times before entering into its third stage of development—the pupa stage.

This most fascinating caterpillar molt begins when the full-grown larva attaches itself to a surface with a silken lifeline. In an aerial act that would amaze most circus performers, the caterpillar sheds its outer skin to reveal a pupal shell beneath. All the furious eating comes to a halt. The pupa, or chrysalis, may now look inactive or even dead, but inside an incredible transformation is taking place that will change the larva into a beautiful butterfly.

Hormones cause most of the larval organs to dissolve, and the resulting fluids and materials rearrange to form the adult inside the pupa.

Warm temperatures, adequate length of daylight, and moisture signal the developed butterfly inside that the time is right to emerge. The chrysalis splits open as the winged beauty struggles to get free, taking anywhere from 90 seconds to 5 minutes. The newly hatched butterfly hardly looks fit to make its debut. Its cramped quarters have left its wings wet and crumpled. So, clinging where it has emerged, it pumps body fluids in the veins of the wings, which expand and begin to harden. Its life may span from three days up to eight months or even a year.

In Search of Butterflies

Should you care to journey to the arid southwestern deserts of the United States, you might be delighted to spot the Felders’ orange-tip (Anthocharis cethura). How does it cope with such an unfriendly climate? It flies only during the early spring months in years when enough rainfall has produced its desired food plants. The patient pupae may delay hatching up to five or six years, waiting for the right amount of moisture.

These deserts also host another butterfly of distinction: the giant skipper (Megathymus coloradensis). This large butterfly has a chunky body and comparatively small triangular wings that make it look as if flight would be awkward. Don’t be fooled—these jets of the insect world may be the fastest butterflies on earth, with speeds of 60 miles per hour [96 km/hr].

Traveling to the cold windswept summits of the California Sierra Nevadas, we would find the hardy ivallda arctic (Oeneis ivallda). It withstands winters lasting nine to ten months at elevations of 10,000-14,000 feet [3,000-4,000 m]. How does it survive? Scientists believe that the caterpillar is able to produce its own “antifreeze.”

Perhaps you would enjoy observing the large blue (Maculinea arion) of Europe and its partnership with the ants. After several molts, it is found by certain kinds of ants, which stroke a “honey gland” on the back of the caterpillar, yielding a sweet fluid. The ants adopt the caterpillar, carrying it back to their nest, where they give it ant larvae to eat in exchange for the sweet “honeydew.” Eventually, the caterpillar enters the pupa stage, emerging as a butterfly three weeks later.

Within the butterfly world we find tremendous variety in size, wing shape, color, and patterns. In some cases, though, the opposite is true. Some species so resemble each other that only experts can accurately identify them. Several poisonous kinds afford protection to their nonpoisonous look-alikes, as wary birds and other predators have learned not to make a meal of them. The smallest known butterfly specimen, pygmy blue (Brephidium exilis) of North America, is less than one half inch [1 cm] in wingspan. The largest is the Queen Alexandra’s birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) of the South Pacific, which can have a wingspread of 11 inches [28 cm].

About 10,000 to 20,000 different species of butterflies adorn the surface of this planet. They are to be found braving the harsh desert heat of North Africa; scaling the dizzying heights of the Himalayas to altitudes of 20,000 feet [6,000 m]; living more than 100 feet [30 m] below sea level in the Middle East and Death Valley, California; playing about the tropical rain forests of South America, Africa, and Asia; patrolling the turbulent Atlantic seacoasts; and even surviving in the frigid tundra above the Arctic Circle.

In a flash of color, the butterfly we were watching at the outset is once again airborne, bound for parts unknown. 

 

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ALLIGATORS---RARE, WHITE, AND BLUE-EYED!

THE following release prepared by Curt Burnette for Audubon Institute tells the story of the remarkable white alligators.

“The white-skinned, blue-eyed alligators are a genetic mutation of the American alligator and not a different species. This mutation is called leucism, therefore these are leucistic alligators. Albinos have white skin and pinkish-yellow eyes. Leucistic animals have pigmented eyes. Albinism is rare but leucism is even more rare. Although leucism is known in a few other species of animals, the white gators are the first known leucistic alligators.

“There are 18 white gators, all discovered at the same nest site in late August, 1987. Three Cajun fishermen found them near Houma, Louisiana, southwest of New Orleans. They were approximately 1-2 weeks old when the first ones were brought to the Audubon Zoo on September 5, 1987. Besides the 18 whites, 7 normal-colored siblings were captured and an undetermined number of normals escaped. The nest was located on land owned by the Louisiana Land and Exploration Company (LL&E). Although the nest area has been watched and eggs collected and hatched out, no further white gators have ever been discovered.

“All 18 white gators and their 7 normal siblings are male. This is possible because the sex of a baby alligator is determined by the temperature of the nest and so can be all male, all female, or a mix. As of this writing, the gators are reaching sexual maturity (5-6 years). The size of the 18 varies from about 5 feet and 50-60 pounds to over 8 feet and 250 pounds. This is a result of differing management techniques. Gators raised at LL&E’s alligator farm grow more rapidly.

“LL&E owns 14 of the white gators and graciously donated 4 to the Audubon Institute. The Institute currently displays 2 at its Audubon Zoo and 2 at its Aquarium of the Americas. Two alligators are rotated out on loan to other zoos and aquariums and have already been to over a dozen in the U.S. and one in Japan.

“The white gators have become famous and popular all over the world. Their discovery was broadcast worldwide by CNN. They have made numerous television appearances including the Today Show, the Nashville Network, the Tonight Show, CBS Morning News, Late Night with David Letterman, Christian Broadcast Network, MTV, and various foreign news and morning shows. Newspaper and magazine articles worldwide occasionally feature them. A few years back a French magazine ran an article and photos of them and the public response was so favorable they ran a sequel feature.

“How come there are so few white gators and no one had ever seen any before? Besides being rare mutations to begin with, leucistic and albinistic alligators are at a distinct and deadly disadvantage from normal alligators. When a baby gator hatches, it’s only 8-10 inches long. The mother gator guards the nest for a while but soon the little gators are on their own. Normal gator hatchlings are yellow and black striped and blend in well with their surroundings. A white hatchling would easily be spotted by and fall prey to many different predators.

“Two last interesting and unusual facts about the white gators: their black spots and their temperament. Only a very few of the white gators were hatched with black spots. Most had none at all. As they grew, however, more began developing some black areas. Almost all the spots developed around the head and neck only. It has made it easier to identify who is who, although some have never acquired any spots at all.

“And finally, it is agreed by everyone who has worked with the white gators, they are more feisty and temperamental than normal alligators. No one is sure why this is so, but they are treated as if they were fast and quick-tempered crocodiles rather than relatively slower and more easygoing alligators. Yet another of the many mysteries that surround these white wonders of the swamp!”—By Curt Burnette, Audubon Institute.

 

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CULTIVATING ORCHIDS---HOW PATIENCE PAYS OFF

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GROWING orchids can be habit-forming. Some admirers spend hours studying the Latin names of their favorites so they can pronounce them properly. Why are people so fascinated with orchids?

The number of different kinds of orchids is vast. Some 25,000 different species have been discovered in the wild, and official organizations recognize more than 100,000 artificial hybrids! The label “artificial hybrid” does not mean that botanists have created new living organisms from soil, water, and air. Rather, such hybrids are the product of controlled cross-pollination.

Naturally occurring orchids as well as those produced with human assistance come in a variety of sizes. There are tiny orchids that are best observed with a magnifying glass, while others display themselves nicely on a windowsill. One orchid that grows in the Indonesian rain forest can weigh over 1,000 pounds [500 kg]!

Orchids flaunt a rainbow of colors and come in many shapes. Some of them bear a striking resemblance to bees, moths, and birds, while others with forms unlike anything you have ever seen before are particularly captivating, especially to breeders. For many years, only the rich could acquire these beautiful plants, but now orchids are available to those of lesser means. Here is the story behind the beautiful orchids you can enjoy today.

The “Orchid Rush”

People have admired orchids for centuries, but only in fairly recent times have growers learned effective ways to reproduce them. In 1856 the first man-made orchid hybrid flowered. However, cultivating these splendid but fussy flowers was often more tedious than delightful.

Orchid seeds are small—some are like fine dust. Handling such tiny seeds was, and often still is, a challenge, but the greatest difficulty has been getting them to grow. For decades, growers experimented with different materials and conditions to find the right medium for the germination of orchid seeds. In 1922, Dr. Lewis Knudson, a scientist at Cornell University in the United States, discovered that when the seeds were placed in a mixture of water, sugar, and agar (a jellylike substance extracted from seaweed), they sprouted and flourished. Soon enthusiasts were producing new orchid hybrids in abundance. This “orchid rush” continues, with many hybrids never before seen in public appearing each year.

But long before humans cultivated them, orchids grew in the wild. How do orchids produce hybrids in their natural environment?

Orchids in the Wild

When two or more closely related orchid species are flowering in the same area, there is a chance that a natural hybrid will develop. In nature, insects and other creatures act as pollinators. When a pollinator visits orchids in search of nectar, pollen from one plant sticks to its body and pollinates subsequent plants visited. The pollinated orchids may then become fertilized. As such, they will produce seedpods.

In time, the seedpod ripens, splits open, and sets loose thousands, or even millions, of seeds. Some of these fall to the ground, while the wind carries off many others. The seeds that take root have a hard time, and very few reach maturity. Those that grow as a result of pollen from one species fertilizing another species are known as natural hybrids. But how is an artificial orchid hybrid made?

Making the Hybrid

An orchid hybrid is the combination of characteristics from each of its parents. Hence, a grower first considers what kind of flower he wishes to produce. He may be looking for a certain color or stripes or spots. He may be seeking to combine those features in a plant with small flowers or large ones. Fragrance is another factor. With those points in mind, the grower selects two orchids that will hopefully endow their offspring with the desired characteristics. For instance, an orchid cultivator may choose the golden slipper orchid (Paphiopedilum armeniacum) as one of the species he will use. That orchid was discovered in China in 1979. It often imparts a rich golden-yellow to its hybrid offspring, some of which are stunningly beautiful.

Once the grower has acquired his two parent plants, he removes all existing pollen from the pod parent, the flower that will receive pollen from the other plant. The orchid that supplies the pollen is known as the pollen parent. With a toothpick or similar tool, the grower removes pollen from the pollen parent and smears the pollen at the base of the column of the flower of the pod parent. He labels this cross-pollinated orchid with the names of both parents and the pollination date.

Patience Is a Must

If fertilization takes place, an amazing thing occurs in the blossom of the pod parent. Threadlike tubes stretch out from the column to a part of the blossom known as the ovary. The ovary then swells and forms a seedpod. Inside, hundreds of thousands of tiny seeds are forming, each one connected to a single pollen tube. It may take months or more than a year for the seedpod to ripen. At that point, the grower gathers the seeds from the seedpod. He places them in a sterilized flask with a solution of agar and nutrients. If the seeds germinate, tiny orchids will soon appear like a carpet of green grass.

After a few months, the grower removes the seedlings from the flask and places them close together in a community pot. He keeps an eye on the seedlings, frequently watering them so they will not dry out. In time, the grower transplants his new orchids to individual pots. At this point, patience is a true virtue. Orchids may take from a few years to over a decade to bloom.

Imagine a grower’s satisfaction when he sees a blossom on an orchid he has worked to produce! If the hybrid is new, the grower can register it using a name of his choosing. All hybrids developed thereafter using that genus/species blend will thus be referred to by the registered name.

At times, a grower finds an ideal combination that creates a sensation among orchid hobbyists. He may receive awards, and his beautiful plants will command high prices. But regardless of the monetary outcome, the pleasure of seeing a blossom on an orchid that he has crossed is a delight.

Now you know that it took much time and patience to produce the beautiful orchids that you admire. But in reality, the work humans do in producing orchid hybrids is simple compared with that of the grand Creator of every living thing, Jehovah. He has put the complex genetic code in each plant, allowing for such gorgeous blossoms. We are merely the recipients of his artistic love demonstrated among the fascinating variety of orchid hybrids. It is truly as the psalmist David wrote: “How many your works are, O Jehovah! All of them in wisdom you have made. The earth is full of your productions.”—Psalm 104:24

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