To Bee or Not to Bee
Isaiah 45:18
For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it. Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain. Who formed it to be inhabited: 'I am the LORD, there is no other.'
They are social creatures who live in a colony. Young workers in the colony gather food and keep the colony's living area clean. Older males breed. And the colony is ruled by a single female - a queen.
Are we talking about ants? Or maybe bees? No, this social creature is a mammal called the naked mole rat. They are found in Kenya. And as one naturalist put it, "There's hardly anything about the animal that isn't astonishing."
A naked mole rat colony can have over 80 members. The largest and most important member of the colony is the queen. As the queen patrols the tunnels of the underground colony, her subjects lower themselves to allow her to pass over them. Should she encounter another female, the subject is required to show honor to her queen by giving her a kiss. None of the other females in the colony are able to reproduce. But should something happen to the queen, other females will start developing the ability to reproduce and will fight each other to the death until one remains as the new queen.
The similarity between these mammals and certain insect colonies offers yet another hint of the fact that one Creator stands over all of the creation. The naked mole rat seems to be a rather humorous reminder by our Creator that natural laws cannot explain where we and everything else came from.
Prayer:
Dear Lord; there is no limit to Your imagination and power. Teach me, through Your revealed Word to be more like You and to value the same things You value. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Notes:
The queen of the molehill. Science 84, April 1984. p. 8.
