The Wonders of God’s Creation
In numerous forms of animal, fish and bird life the Creator has provided protective camouflage to their surroundings, but in none of them is this as remarkable as with insects, which represent a principal part of the food of birds, fish, snakes, etc. When insects follow the way the Creator has marked out for them, they are hidden from their enemies, even though they are actually exposed to full view.
Most frequently this camouflage is by means of coloring or the imitation of the surface on which they are resting or feeding, and the fact that most of them can remain perfectly still for long periods of time adds to their safety. There are literally thousands of insects so protected in very interesting ways, and it would take much more space than available here to consider them all. But we will give a few examples.
Some, for instance, known as stick insects, with odd-shaped legs and bodies, perfectly match the dead leaves on which they rest and look exactly like a part of the leaf as they lie openly without moving throughout daylight hours, waiting until it is dark to eat the leaves. Birds often alight on nearby branches, never suspecting they are missing out on a tasty morsel.
The green wings and bodies of other insects are spotted in such a way as to give the appearance of leaves that have been partially eaten or damaged. Others, the exact color of a given flower, sit on its petals and appear to be part of it. An outstanding example of these are known as African planthoppers and come in two colors — green and yellow. When feeding on a bush of their favorite food, the green ones go above where they look like the green buds which they are devouring, while the yellow ones go below to feast on the yellow flowers which they match perfectly.
Some caterpillars that are able to remain motionless for hours are thin and covered with rough spots, so that they look exactly like twigs jutting out from plants or bushes. At times they hold to a bare branch with their hind feet only, the front part of their bodies sticking out stiffly in the air. These are so perfectly disguised that a photographer, who once happened to spot one and took its picture, wasn’t able later to tell it from other parts of the branch when his finished photograph was right before him!
These insects can “hide” themselves from their enemies, but as the opening Bible verse tells us, they cannot hide from their Creator whose eyes are always on every creature, including every human being. What does He see when He is looking at you?
In the next issue we will “take a look” at a few more of these hidden insects.
(to be continued)
ML-08/30/1987