The Maculinea arion is a large blue butterfly that goes through an extraordinary life cycle. The female Maculinea arion lays eggs one at a time on the buds of the wild thyme plant. In the fall, the caterpillar hatches and feeds on the thyme for about three weeks. Then it leaves the plant, never to eat vegetation again.
On the ground the caterplillar finds a red ant whose colony is near the thyme plant. The ant strokes the caterpillar with its antennae, and the caterpillar gives of sweet milk from the tenth segment of its body. The ant drinks this for about an hour until the caterpillar suddenly hunches up. The ant then puts one leg on each side of the tiny caterpillar, picks it up in its jaws, and carries it back to its nest. Once in the nest, the ants enjoy drinking the caterpillar's milk while the caterpillar enjoys eating the baby ants!
The following June, while still in the ant nest, the caterpillar comes out of its pupa state as an adult butterfly. It squeezes through small passages to escape to the surface of the ground, where it flies away to start the same life cycle again.
Tremendous faith is required to believe that evolution caused this complex and incredible butterfly life cycle with its interdependence between different forms of life. A wiser faith trusts the creative hand of God to have produced these complex characteristics needed for survival in our fallen world.
From A Closer Look at the Evidence by Kleiss, November 23.
