Quoting from
the book 'Attracting Butterflies to your Garden,' by Hunt, Grund, Keane &
Forest, -
"Many of the
Australian Blues form symbiotic relationships with ants. This relationship is
loose or casual in some species, in others it is an intense and entirely
dependent one."
"It is thought
that the caterpillars of these butterflies receive some form of protection from
having the ants attend them. This could be protection from predators or from
potential parasites, including some wasp species. In turn, the ants get drops of
a sugar and protein food for their efforts. This is produced by a gland located
near the rear end of the caterpillar."
"To fool the
ants, Lycaenidae caterpillars emit chemicals called pheromones from a pair of
posteriorly-located, extrusible organs. These pheromones are thought to mimic
the smell of the ants, confusing them and preventing them from making a meal of
the caterpillars. As a result the ants look at the caterpillars as one of their
own and nurture and protect it. It is a clever ploy by the
caterpillars."
My response to
that last sentence; A clever ploy of Gods! I can't imagine a caterpillar working
that one out, can you?
Continuing on
from the book, "Australia has more of these ant-caterpillar associations than
the rest of the world in total. In South Australia, we have a number of
butterfly species that are in one of these dependant ant associations. One such
is the Genoveva Azure, one of the Ogyris group of
butterflies."
"The Genoveva
Azure lays its eggs on trees that have the appropriate mistletoe clumps, usually
Box Mistletoe, established and have the odour of the Sugar Ant [Camponotus
consobrinus.] The eggs are laid on the twigs and butt of the mistletoe and often
under bark, or in pits and scars, of the branches and stem of the host tree. It
is believed that, upon hatching, the larvae are found by foraging Sugar Ants and
moved to a temporary creche under bark or in a knot hole near one of the
mistletoe clumps."
"After dark,
the caterpillars are herded by the ants to feed on the mistletoe, protected
whilst there, and herded back to safety when feeding was finished. As the
caterpillars grow, a larger hiding place is soon required. This could be a
hollowed out broken branch or a large piece of bark, but most usually it is
underground with the ants."
The term,
'living with the enemy,' comes to mind!
Continuing,
"An ant nest that has scores of caterpillars in it is a frenzy of activity at
feeding time. The caterpillars are often accompanied by hundreds of ants. The
ants nudge the caterpillars and run all over them, coaxing them away from
danger, dragging at them if they perceive a need."
How do you
like that?! I thought it was the end of that caterpillar I saw being lugged away
by a mob of ants! But he was probably being saved, not kidnapped to be devoured
later!
Continuing,
"On some trees, the caterpillars need to be herded thirty metres up the
mistletoe to graze on the leaves and flower buds. When the caterpillars are
large enough, they pupate in their daytime resting sites. The ants watch over
them until they hatch. After hatching, ants have been observed cleaning up the
site, removing frass [caterpillar poo!] and the chrysalis
shells."
How good is
that! These potential enemy ants are turned into guardian ants, right up till
hatching time!
Now tell me
God hasn't got a seriously marvellous plan! And I have only discovered a tiny
piece of the story
I am
fascinated by this whole 'symbiotic relationship' thing going on
here.
And Holy
Spirit impresses the word 'symbiosis' onto me, & that I should study &
inquire more into it. He tells me the word 'symbiosis' can be applied
spiritually to us, & our relationships, with other people, & with
Himself. And the spiritual song I get, that comes with this word 'symbiosis,' is
'love the one you're with.'
God enabled me
to capture some wonderful pictures of the delightful tiny Saltbush Blue
butterfly, snapped just up the road, from where I live.
In some shots
you will see an ant!
This is a
dictionary description of the word 'symbiosis.'
sym·bi·o·sis
[sim-bee-oh-sis,
-bahy-]
- noun, pl.
-ses
1.
Biol.
1. the living
together of two dissimilar organisms, as in mutualism, commensalism, amensalism,
or parasitism.
2. (formerly)
mutualism (def. 1).
2.
Psychiatry. a
relationship between two people in which each person is dependent upon and
receives reinforcement, whether beneficial or detrimental, from the
other.
3.
Psychoanal.
the relationship between an infant and its mother in which the infant is
dependent on the mother both physically and emotionally.
4.
any
interdependent or mutually beneficial relationship between two persons, groups,
etc.
Origin:
1615–25; < Gk symbíōsis, equiv. to sym- sym- + biō (var. s. of bioûn to live)
+ -sis -sis
How could any
one not believe in God?
SomeOne had to
have thought this whole Saltbush Blue Butterfly symbiosis with the ant thing
up!
No on can say
to me, it just is because it is & that's all they know & are interested
in, & say, that's life, that's all there is.
Come
on!
No! I
recognize God when I see Him!
And I must so
be grateful & give thanks when I see Him too!
And this God
Who creates amazing endless stuff for us to explore & discover & ponder
& dream about & study & photograph & paint & endless so on -
He loves us like Jesus - He is willing to suffer so & die for each one of
us.
God has an
awesome loving plan! - beneficial & detrimental to our life here on earth
& our eternal life with Him in heaven.
It's a good,
& God thing that the Saltbush Blue caterpillar trusts God's plan, without
questioning. What if a caterpillar could doubt his ability to emit that precious
pheromone?!
I surmise that
a wavering & dubious caterpillar could become ant tucker.
God does work
in mysterious & wonderful ways!
There is no
excuse for anyone not to believe in God!
For His
invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been
clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He
has made. As a result, people are without excuse. (Romans 1:20 HCSB)
I want to be
like the butterfly that has the intense & entirely dependent symbiotic
relationship thing happening, & not the loose or casual
one.
God is
everything to me & I am everything to Him.
The tune &
words to my spiritual song, 'Love the one you're with,' are coming into mind,
& here is the Bible verse that concurs!
Dear friends,
let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has
been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God,
because God is love. God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His
One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. Love
consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son
to be the propitiation for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way,
we also must love one another. (1 John 4:7-11 HCSB)
