Nature

Nature – Blue Violets

by

Violets, also known as pansies and heartsease, are flowers in the genus Viola and family Violaceae. There are 400+ species distributed around the world with most being found in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. A few are also found in the Andes of South America, Australasia, and Hawaii. Violets typically are small and have heart-shaped scalloped leaves but some have palmate leaves or other shapes. The vast majority of violets are herbaceous, but a few are small shrubs, and most are perennial.

Their flowers consist of five petals, four fan-shaped petals with two per side and one broad, lobed lower petal pointing downward which often has a spur. The flower color of violets is most commonly violet or blue but also can be yellow, white, or cream, and some are bicolored, often blue and yellow. Most violets are spring blooming and pollinated by insects, but many species also have closed forms in which the flowers lack petals, do not open, and are self pollinating. These closed form individuals flower in the summer and fall. After flowering, fruit capsules are produced that split open by way of three valves and the seeds are often spread by ants.

Violets are common bedding and pot plants worldwide where they are commonly referred to as “violas” by gardeners. There are literally hundreds of cultivars that have been developed. The modern garden pansy, for example, is a plant of complex hybrid origin involving at least three species. In 2005 in the U.S., violas, including pansies, were one of the top three bedding plant crops, producing $111 million for the bedding flower market. Violets also have culinary uses. The flowers are used to decorate salads and are used in stuffings and desserts, while the leaves are used raw or cooked as a leaf vegetable. The flowers, leaves, and roots are used for medicinal purposes too, being high in vitamins A and C, and containing a type of antioxidant called anthocyanin. Recent research has detected a natural aspirin in violets which substantiates its use for centuries as a remedy for headache, body pains, and as a sedative. It also has other constituents that show promise for the treatment of cancer, AIDs, and much more. One species, the Sweet Violet, is used for a source of scents in the perfume industry.

Blue violets have symbolized “faithfulness” since medieval times. The Bible tells us that the Lord is faithful! His great faithfulness extends to the clouds and endures to all generations. “Thy mercy, O Lord, [is] in the heavens; [and] thy faithfulness [reacheth] unto the clouds.” Psalm 36:5. “Thy faithfulness [is] unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.” Psalm 119:90. “Great [is] thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:23. “The Lord calls upon us for confession of His goodness. … Our confession of His faithfulness is Heaven’s chosen agency for revealing Christ to the world. We are to acknowledge His grace as made known through the holy men of old; but that which will be most effectual is the testimony of our own experience. We are witnesses for God as we reveal in ourselves the working of a power that is divine. Every individual has a life distinct from all others, and an experience differing essentially from theirs. God desires that our praise shall ascend to Him, marked by our own individuality. These precious acknowledgements to the praise of the glory of His grace, when supported by a Christlike life, have an irresistible power that works for the salvation of souls.” God’s Amazing Grace, 277.

David Arbour writes from his home in De Queen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature Nugget – The Pinyon Pines

by

The Pinyon Pines and their Avian Planters

There is a group of eight closely related species of pines growing in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico that are known as pinyon, or piñon, pines. They are short and scrubby trees, most commonly found growing in association with junipers. Pinyon pines generally grow at elevations between 4,500 and 6,500 feet above sea level. This elevation span is above the deserts, grasslands, and sagebrush, but below mountain forests, into which these trees merge. In the southern Rockies, they can sometimes be found growing as high as 9,300 feet above sea level on the warmer, south-facing slopes. Annual precipitation where the pinyon pine grows is 12 to 18 inches. Pinyon pines are rarely more than 20 to 30 feet tall and often much less. They are slow growing and may reach 100 years before producing cones. Their average lifespan is 350 to 450 years, with a few achieving 1,000 years!

Pinyon pines are most famous for their seeds or pine nuts, as they are called. Being 50 percent fat and 25 percent protein, a single pea-sized seed can yield as much as 20 calories. This is important to the wildlife that depends on them for survival through the winter. Many species of wildlife—such as black bears, mule deer, turkeys, porcupines, squirrels, chipmunks, wood rats (pack rats), mice, and many species of passerine birds—feed on the seeds.

The seeds are also important as a staple to many Native American tribes who extensively collect them throughout the pines’ range. The seeds are of immense cultural and economic importance to the tribes who often own the seed harvest rights in many areas. The seeds are sometimes robbed from pack rat nests where they have been stored up in large quantities.

There is a unique relationship between the pinyon pines and several species of jays. The whole pinyon pine ecosystem is dependent upon these relationships. These birds function as types of foresters or tree planters. The most famous of these birds is the pinyon jay. Not only do they love to eat the pinyon pine seeds, but they plant the seeds also.

The jays can carry up to 56 seeds in an expandable pouch in their throats. Pinyon jays occur in large flocks in the fall and winter. A flock of 200 jays can harvest, in minimal time, 10,000 or more seeds from a stand of pinyon pines, especially if the trees are producing a bumper crop of seeds, which they typically do about every six years. The jays quickly eat their fill and start burying seeds in the soil for future needs. They hide many more seeds than they will be able to refind and eat. These overlooked seeds sprout to produce the next generation of pinyon pines.

In one study done on pinyon jays, during a bumper crop year, it was estimated that one flock of 250 jays buried about 4.5 million seeds from September through January. In Arizona, a Clark’s Nutcracker, a close relative of the pinyon jay, was seen to carry 95 pinyon pine seeds in its cheek pouch for 14 miles. Approximately a ton, or four million seeds, can be cached by 150 nutcrackers!

Just as the jays and nutcrackers plant pinyon pine seeds abundantly, even carrying them to far away places, we are to be planting the seeds of truth. “You are to sow the seeds of truth in every place. Wherever you can gain access, hold forth the word of God. Sow beside all waters. You may not at once see the result of your labors, but be not discouraged. Speak the words that Christ gives you. Work in His lines. Go forth everywhere as He did during His ministry on the earth.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 36.

David Arbour writes from his home in DeQueen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature Nugget – Electric Fishes

by

In marshes and stagnant areas of the Amazon Basin of South America lives a fish called the Electric Eel. Though not a true eel, but closely resembling one, its internal organs are found in a small area just behind the head with the remaining seven-eighths of its body being tail. Reaching lengths of six to nine feet, Electric Eels are obligate air-breathers, requiring a breath of air every few minutes.

The most unique thing about the Electric Eel is that it has the capability of emitting an electric discharge of up to 650 volts and a current of up to 1 ampere. It has been known to kill humans and to knock down a horse crossing a stream from 20 feet away. The main functions of these high intensity electric discharges are for stunning or killing its prey and for defense from predators. It also produces low intensity discharges in the 5 to 10 volt range for sensory perception (electro-location), allowing it to navigate and find its prey in muddy water and to communicate with others of its kind. The Electric Eel’s body is similar to a battery with the tail end having a positive charge and the head region a negative charge.

Another electric fish is the Electric Catfish, which is found among rocks and roots in dark, freshwater rivers and lakes of Western and Central Africa and the Nile River. Electric Catfishes are nocturnal and feed on smaller fishes, worms, crustaceans, and insects. Attaining a maximum size of around three feet in length, they can live for up to 15 years. Like the Electric Eel, they can produce an electric shock, but at only about half the volts (about 300–350 volts), which is also used for stunning prey and for defense. The Arabs and Egyptians used Electric Catfishes for medicinal purposes.

Another electric fish, the Torpedo Ray, found in the Mediterranean Sea, was also used for medicinal purposes. Discharging up to 220 volts and 120 amperes of current, the Torpedo Rays were used by Roman physicians as shock therapy to treat gout, mental illness, and headaches. The Greeks used the Electric Ray, a smaller, less potent relative of the Torpedo Ray, to treat headaches. They did this by wrapping the ray around the head of the patient.

The electric organs of electric fishes are composed of multiple stacks of coin-shaped cells, derived from neuromuscular tissue, called electroplaques. Nervous stimulation of each cell produces a small electrical flow from one face of the coin-shaped cell to the other. Simultaneous stimulation of many electro-plaques arranged in a column and all oriented with their innervated side up will produce a strong net current. These electroplaque columns are like batteries aligned in series; the more in a line, the greater the voltage produced. Also, the more stacks aligned in parallel, the greater the amperage.

All these fishes are capable of producing power in the form of electricity for defense against their enemies; likewise the Christian is capable of having power against his enemy, Satan, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. “Reach up and grasp His hand, that the touch may electrify you and charge you with the sweet properties of His own matchless character. You may open your hearts to His love, and let His power transform you and His grace be your strength.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 63.

David Arbour writes from his home in DeQueen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature Nugget – The Ivory-billed Woodpecker

by

On February 11, 2004, an Ivory-billed Woodpecker was seen in the Big Woods region of eastern Arkansas on the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. Over the next 12 months, it was seen several more times and captured on video. This find is significant, because the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was last officially seen in North America in 1944 in northeast Louisiana.

One of six species of birds officially declared to be extinct in North America north of Mexico, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker shook the scientific community with its reappearance. How many individuals may be surviving in this area is unknown, and to find out, researchers have already started expeditions into this vast area of bottomland hardwoods. The finding of this bird has given hope that other remote woodlands of the south may be harboring other individuals as well.

Up to 21 inches in length and having a wingspan of 30–31 inches, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America north of Mexico and the third largest woodpecker in the world. This black and white woodpecker sports a large, ivory-white, chisel-tipped bill and bright yellow eyes. Males have a red crest, while the female’s crest is black and often curved forward.

Native to the southeastern United States and the Mississippi River alluvial plain as far north as St. Louis, Missouri, and with a subspecies (last seen in 1988) occurring on the island of Cuba, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is a bird of remote wilderness areas, preferring virgin forests of hardwoods, cypress swamps, and pine savannahs. Never occurring in high densities, an Ivory-billed Woodpecker pair requires about ten square miles of old-growth forests to survive—more if the habitat is degraded. Their diet consists mainly of beetle larvae, which they find by using their chisel-like bills to remove the bark of recently dead trees, but they also eat seeds, berries, and fruits.

The clearing of old growth forests for timber and agricultural development is the single main cause for the decline of this species. Since the cutting of the last of the old-growth forests during the 1940s, scientists have proclaimed the Ivory-billed Woodpecker extinct, and the scientific community met sightings after 1944 with skepticism. Learned men of the scientific community reasoned that the Ivory-billed Woodpeckers could no longer survive because of the lack of old-growth forests, and numerous sight reports over the past 60 years, even very well described sightings by reliable people, were ridiculed. One sighting even produced photos, which were promptly rejected as a hoax. Because of this, some sightings were probably never reported for fear of losing one’s credibility.

Learned men of science have been saying for years that there is no way the Ivory-billed Woodpecker still survives. Even the current world authority on this species say that if any are surviving, Arkansas has the least potential habitat for it of all the possible states in which it might still occur.

God, through the survival of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker into the twenty-first century, has shown how learned men of science are not infallible. In Noah’s day, learned men of science said there could never be a flood and scoffed at Noah’s warning. “The most difficult and humiliating lesson that man has to learn is his own inefficiency in depending upon human wisdom, and the sure failure of his efforts to read nature correctly.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 257. “God and heaven alone are infallible.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 30.

Nature Nugget – Bird Migration

by

For survival, birds require food, water, protective cover, and a sheltered place to nest. Unfortunately, many bird habitats are suitable for them for only part of the year. Changing seasons can transform a comfortable, food-rich environment into an unlivable one where temperatures are freezing, food is scarce, and vegetative cover has vanished. In order to survive, birds have to either adapt to these changes or leave for fairer parts.

Most birds, in temperate areas of the world, adapt by taking up migrations to areas with less harsh winters or to areas with tropical climates. Some even migrate to temperate areas on the opposite side of the globe to enjoy their second spring and summer seasons for the year. When spring rolls around again, they return to their original home to nest and to take advantage of the abundance of food and cover that the warm season brings to these areas.

People living in the Northern Hemisphere are used to the birds flying south for the winter every fall and back north again in the spring to nest. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is just the opposite; birds fly north in the fall and south in the spring. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.

One of the more famous examples of bird migration involves the return of the swallows of Capistrano. Every year, around March 19, Cliff Swallows return to nest at the Mission San Juan Capistrano in Capistrano, California. So regular and reliable is their arrival around that date that the people of this town have been holding a festival to honor the return of these birds since the late 1700s. After spending the summer in Capistrano, the swallows leave around October 23 to fly south for their wintering grounds in and around Goya, Argentina. Around February 18, they leave Goya, and 7,500 miles and 30 days later they arrive back at Capistrano.

The longest migration of any bird is undertaken by the Arctic Tern, which flies from its breeding grounds in the Arctic to winter in the Antarctic, a round trip of 20,000 miles. The highest-flying migrating birds ever recorded were Bar-headed Geese at an altitude of 29,000 feet over the Himalayan Mountains.

“The swallow and the crane observe the changes of the seasons. They migrate from one country to another to find a climate suitable to their convenience and happiness, as the Lord designed they should. They are obedient to the laws which govern their life. But the beings formed in the image of God fail to honor him by obeying the laws of nature. By disregarding the laws that govern the human organism, they disqualify themselves for serving God.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 189, 190.

“God’s laws for nature are obeyed by nature. . . . So the birds fulfill God’s purpose as they make their long migrations from land to land, guided through trackless space by the hand of infinite power.

“Can it be that man, made in the image of God, endowed with reason and speech, shall alone be unappreciative of His gifts and disobedient to His laws? . . .

“God desires us to learn from nature the lesson of obedience. ‘Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these, That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought?’ ‘With God is wisdom and might; He hath counsel and understanding.’ Job 12:7–9, 13, A.R.V.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 327, 328.

David Arbour writes from his home in DeQueen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature Nugget – Mystery Birds of the Marsh

by

The family Rallidae, which occurs worldwide on every continent but Antarctica, consists of 150 species of rails, crakes, and wood-rails, and also includes the moorhens, gallinules, and coots. They are found everywhere except in Polar Regions, completely waterless deserts, and mountains above snowline. They occupy various habitats from forests to wetlands, grasslands to remote, scrub-covered islands, and coral cays. Many live a secretive and skulking existence on the ground in dense vegetation and are difficult to observe. Their bodies are short and often laterally compressed for ease of movement through dense, low vegetation, whence comes the expression “thin as a rail.” In spite of their apparent weak flight, many rails undertake intercontinental migrations and have even colonized remote and widespread oceanic islands.

In North America, there are six species of rails, all of which are secretive and closely tied to marsh and wetland habitats. The largest, the King Rail at a length of up to 19 inches, inhabits freshwater wetlands throughout much of the eastern United States. It is bright rufous overall with a long, slightly drooping bill, which it uses to catch crayfish, small fishes, amphibians, and insects. Incubating birds seldom flush from their nest until an intruder comes within ten feet; then they will often flush toward the intruder and strike him. The rail then gives a distraction display and leads the intruder away from its nest. The Clapper Rail of the coastal marshes is a paler, saltwater version of the King Rail. Its diet, habits, and calls are very similar to those of the King Rail, and many scientists believe they are the same species. Downy young of both the King and Clapper Rails have vestigial claws at the carpal joints of their wings.

The most common rails in North America are the Virginia Rail and Sora. These medium-sized rails are common migrants, breeding in the north and wintering in the south. They prefer freshwater marshes, especially ones with cattails. The Virginia Rail is a small, half-sized version of the King Rail, but with gray cheeks and reddish legs and bill. It feeds on invertebrates and fish, which it catches with its long bill. The Sora has a very short, stubby bill that is bright yellow. It is mostly a seedeater but will also take insects and snails.

The two smallest North American rails are also the most difficult to see. The Yellow Rail, at five inches in length, breeds in wet meadows of southern Canada and the northern United States, where it gives its Morse-code-like ticking calls. It winters in hay meadows and coastal marshes along the Gulf Coasts. It has a short, stubby, yellow bill, like the Sora’s, and a similar diet. Seen in flight, it has a bold, white patch in the secondaries, which no other North American rail has. At 4.5 inches, the Black Rail is the smallest rail in the world. It is quite probably the most secretive and difficult to see bird in all of North America. In spite of its secretiveness, its call, which is given usually at night, can be heard a mile away. It prefers the high portion of salt marshes, wet meadows, and shallow freshwater marshes. It is found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and locally inland and in the west.

“He who studies most deeply into the mysteries of nature will realize most fully his own ignorance and weakness. He will realize that there are depths and heights which he cannot reach, secrets which he cannot penetrate, vast fields of truth lying before him unentered.” Education, 133.

David Arbour writes from his home in DeQueen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature Nugget – The Alligator Snapping Turtle

by

Known as the dinosaur of the turtle world, the Alligator Snapping Turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in the world. Native to the southeastern United States from Florida to Texas and north in the Mississippi River Valley to Iowa and Indiana, the Alligator Snapping Turtle is found in the deepwater areas of lakes, swamps, bayous, canals, and rivers that drain into the Gulf of Mexico. They average in size from 70 to 150 pounds with the carapace (upper shell) reaching 30 inches in length. The largest individual turtle ever documented was a 236-pounder, but there are legends of much larger individuals, including one that reportedly weighed over 400 pounds! They are long-lived, believed to live well over 100 years.

Unlike the Common Snapping Turtle, which has its eyes on top of its head, the Alligator Snapping Turtle has its eyes on the sides of its extremely massive head. It has a strong, hooked beak and very long tail which is slightly prehensile in very young individuals. The head, neck, and front legs are covered with fleshy projections of the skin. The carapace has three rows of prominent keels and is usually covered in algae growth, which helps camouflage the turtle. Almost totally aquatic, Alligator Snapping Turtles can stay submerged for up to 50 minutes, but they usually come up for air every 15 to 20 minutes.

Alligator Snapping Turtles mate in the spring and lay eggs in the summer, with the young hatching in the fall. They lay from 8 to 52 eggs in a nest dug in the sand about 55 yards from the shore. The incubation temperature determines the sex of the young. High and low temperatures yield more females while moderate temperatures yield more males. They reach sexual maturity in 11 to 13 years.

Being an omnivore, the Alligator Snapping Turtle is both a scavenger and an active hunter. Its diet consists of just about anything it can find or catch such as carrion, fish, smaller turtles, aquatic plants, snakes, frogs, clams, snails, worms, crayfish, fruit, and even small alligators. It is mainly nocturnal, when it actively moves around searching for food. During the day, it passively hunts by lying still on the bottom of the body of water with its mouth wide open. In the bottom of its mouth, it has a small, pink, worm-like lure, which it wiggles to attract fish. The fish, believing the lure to be a worm, comes close and is caught with lightning speed in the powerful jaws of the turtle.

Just as the Alligator Snapping Turtle attracts fish to their doom with its worm-like lure, so Satan attracts souls to their doom with worldly allurements. “Satan invents earthly allurements, that the carnal mind may be placed on those things which cannot elevate and refine and ennoble.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 581. “He who is not blind to the attraction of worldly honors, indifferent to threats, and unmoved by allurements will be, all unexpectedly to himself, overthrown by Satan’s devices.” Ibid., 544. “The temptations by which Christ was beset in the wilderness—appetite, love of the world, and presumption—are the three great leading allurements by which men are most frequently overcome.” Ibid., 576. “If the frivolous and pleasure-seeking will allow their minds to dwell upon the real and true, the heart cannot but be filled with reverence, and they will adore the God of nature. The contemplation and study of God’s character as revealed in His created works will open a field of thought that will draw the mind away from low, debasing, enervating amusements.” Ibid., 581.

David Arbour writes from his home in DeQueen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature Nugget – Owl Senses

by

There are 162 species of owls in the world ranging in size from the tiny Elf Owl, less than six inches in length and weighing 1.5 ounces, to the giant European Eagle Owl weighing up to nine pounds and with nearly a six-foot wingspan. Owls are found on every continent, except Antarctica, and on many oceanic islands far from any continent. They occur in habitats from the cold arctic tundra to hot, low deserts. Most owls are nocturnal (active at night), but some are diurnal (active during the day). The larger species feed on small mammals such as rabbits, skunks, and foxes, whereas the smallest owls are mainly insect eaters. Most average-sized owls feed on rodents and birds. A few, such as the fishing owls, feed on fish.

The most striking feature of an owl is its eyes. They are very large and forward facing and, depending on the species, may account for one to five percent of the owl’s body weight. The forward facing aspect of the eyes, which gives it a “wise” appearance, provides it a wide range of “binocular” vision (seeing an object with both eyes at the same time). This means the owl can see objects in three dimensions and can judge distances. An owl’s field of view is approximately 110 degrees with about 70 degrees being binocular vision. In comparison, humans have a 180-degree field of view with 140 degrees being binocular. An owl’s eyes are large in order to improve their light gathering capacity. They do not have eyeballs like other animals but have eyes that are elongated tubes. Therefore, they cannot “roll” or move their eyes but can only look straight ahead. The owl makes up for this with its long, very flexible neck, allowing it to turn its head nearly completely around and almost upside down.

Even more impressive than the owl’s vision is its highly developed hearing. Its ears are located on the sides of its head behind the eyes and are covered with feathers. The shape of the ear opening or aperture varies from round and small to an oblong slit, depending on the species. Some species have a valve called an operculum covering the ear opening. An owl’s hearing is very acute and sensitive, allowing it to hear even the slightest movements of its prey. Some of the more strictly nocturnal species have asymmetrically set ear openings (i.e., one ear is located higher than the other). These same species use their pronounced facial discs like radar dishes to guide sounds into their ears. When an owl hears a sound, it is able to tell its direction because of the minute time difference in which the sound is perceived in the left and right ear. Turning its head so that the sound arrives at both ears simultaneously puts it looking in the right direction from which the sound is coming. Owls can detect a left/right time difference of about 0.00003 seconds (30 millionths of a second)! Using its asymmetrical ear openings, it lines up on the sound on the vertical plane. All these signals combine instantly in the owl’s brain, creating a mental image of the space where the sound source is located. So accurate are these senses that an owl can capture prey in total darkness without the aid of its eyes and can even capture prey under snow.

Like the special senses provided for the owls, the Lord has given us special senses (i.e., touch, taste, smell, hearing, sight), according to our needs, for our function and enjoyment. “All should guard the senses, lest Satan gain victory over them; for these are the avenues to the soul.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 507.

David Arbour writes from his home in DeQueen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature Nugget – Mosquitohawks

by

Mosquitohawks, or dragonflies as they are more commonly called, are members of the insect order Odonata. Odonates have two pairs of wings and consist of three suborders: true dragonflies, damselflies, and ancient dragonflies. Except for two living species, the ancient dragonflies are known only from the fossil record. True dragonflies are easily separated from others in that they keep their wings open when at rest. There are nearly 3,000 species of dragonflies worldwide, from the tiny Scarlet Dwarf of Asia with a wingspan of around three-fourths of an inch to the large Bornean Dragonfly of Borneo with a wingspan of around 6.4 inches. Giant dragonflies with wingspans up to 30 inches existed before the flood and are known today from the fossil record.

Dragonflies are excellent flyers and are capable of hovering motionless in one spot, flying backwards, and can even do loops. Unlike other insects, they can flap or beat their four wings independently of each other at different speeds and angles, which allows them great maneuverability. They can flap their wings close to 30 beats a second, which is slow compared to a hoverfly or honey bee, and are capable of flying at speeds of up to 38 miles per hour. Dragonflies have excellent eyesight, with 80 percent of their brain being devoted to sight. Each of their two, large, compound eyes consists of up to 30,000 individual, six-sided lenses. In comparison, our eyes only have one lens each. Together, these smaller lenses enable the dragonfly to have a 360-degree field of view and enable them to detect even the slightest movement up to 40 feet away.

Mosquitohawks, as their other name suggests, are carnivores, feeding on mosquitoes as well as numerous other insects such as gnats, flies, winged termites, and ants. Using their bristle-covered legs to form an oval-shaped basket, they scoop their prey right out of the air. Along with bats, they are the main mosquito eaters on the planet. They often concentrate in swarms over ant and termite mounds when winged individuals are swarming.

Dragonflies lay their eggs in water or damp places at the edge of the water, which hatch into larvae called nymphs. Some species can lay up to 100,000 eggs at a time, but many species only lay one egg at a time but do it frequently throughout the day and over a period of several days. In many species, the male guards the female while she lays eggs. The aquatic nymphs, like the adults, are carnivorous, feeding on a variety of aquatic organisms. Unlike other aquatic insect larvae, dragonfly nymphs have their gills inside their abdomens. They use abdominal muscles to move water into and out of their abdomen to breathe. They can also use these muscles to jet propel themselves away from danger. Depending on the species, the nymphs can live up to four years and shed their skins up to 15 times before becoming adults. After leaving the water and becoming adults, they live a maximum of only a few months.

Dragonflies are often very colorful and can come in about any color of the spectrum. Some have unusually shaped abdomens. They also sport interesting names such as: clubtails, sanddragons, snaketails, forceptails, boghaunters, sundragons, baskettails, meadowhawks, dragonlets, pondhawks, pennants, and more!

Sin has marred nature with death and ugliness and with insect pests that plague us, but God, in His love for us, has preserved beauty and balance in nature, such as with the dragonfly. If it were not for the dragonflies, bats, and birds, the earth would be overrun with insect pests. “Nature testifies of an intelligence, a presence, an active energy, that works in and through her laws. There is in nature the continual working of the Father and the Son.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 114.

David Arbour writes from his home in DeQueen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Nature Nugget: The Mangrove Rivulus

by

The Mangrove Rivulus is a small killifish (a family of numerous small, oviparous fishes much used as bait and in mosquito control) found in the tropical and subtropical portions of the western Atlantic/Caribbean Basin from central Florida south through the West Indies and Caribbean to Brazil. It is strictly a coastal species occurring in salt and brackish habitats and rarely in freshwater. Its range closely parallels that of red mangrove forests, which is its preferred habitat, where it occupies marginal and ephemeral (temporarily flooded) bodies of water such as stagnant, seasonal ponds, sloughs, and mosquito ditches. It also occurs in similar habitats away from the mangroves in elevated marsh habitats above the intertidal zone, especially in microhabitats such as the burrows of the great land crab. The crab burrows provide refuge for the Mangrove Rivulus during the dry season when seasonal pools of water dry up. Up to twenty-six small individuals have been found in a single crab burrow, but one or two per burrow is the usual number found.

Tolerating the extremes of temperature and salinity found in these habitats, the Mangrove Rivulus is one of the few fishes that can survive here. It can tolerate salinities from 0–68 parts per thousand and temperatures ranging from 7–38 degrees Celsius. It also can tolerate low oxygen levels and high sulfide levels that are produced in these habitats from decaying leaf litter, which would kill most fish species. The Mangrove Rivulus is also amphibious and frequently travels across land during rains to reach pools of water or crab burrows. It will also leave drying up bodies of water and waters that are too low in oxygen or too high in sulfides and bury itself in moist debris. It is capable of surviving out of water in this moist situation for up to 60 days. It is able to do this because of special epidermal capillaries that allow it to absorb oxygen and expel carbon dioxide through its skin.

Reproduction in the Mangrove Rivulus is very unusual. It is the only known vertebrate “hermaphrodite” that is self-fertilizing. Hermaphrodite means that it has both male and female reproductive parts. Both eggs and sperm are produced in reproductive organs called “ovotestes.” Each hermaphroditic individual fertilizes its eggs before laying them. The young are “clones,” meaning that they are genetically identical to the parent. This hermaphroditic mode of reproduction may be an adaptation to isolation in the crab burrows and other microhabitats these fish invade. Not all Mangrove Rivuli are hermaphrodites. There are two types of males that occur: primary males and secondary males. Primary males are hatched from fertilized eggs, but secondary males were once hermaphrodites that underwent a change and became males due to certain environmental conditions. True females have not been found in the wild but occur in captive-raised populations. Hermaphroditic individuals are identified by the presence of an eyespot at the upper base of the caudal fin and by a white band in the outer part of the anal fin. There is recent evidence that shows that the young adult fish are able to reproduce by normal sexual reproduction at first, but as they age, they become hermaphroditic. Eggs, at laying, vary in development from recently fertilized to ones containing already developing embryos. Mangrove Rivuli eggs are capable of surviving droughts in damp substrates or debris in a state of “embryonic diapause” where the embryo is in suspended animation. Eggs in this state are viable for several months and hatch soon after inundation by water.

God has implanted in the genes of His creatures enough genetic variability to allow for adaptation for survival under the most extreme circumstances. “It was the Maker of all things who ordained the wonderful adaptation of means to end, of supply to need. . . .

“He who studies most deeply into the mysteries of nature will realize most fully his own ignorance and weakness.” Education, 133.

David Arbour writes from his home in DeQueen, Arkansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.