Nasty Nannies
Romans 8:21: "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
A species of ant that makes slaves of yet smaller ants is quite small itself. This species makes its nest inside of acorns. Yet, unlike the species they enslave, they have chemical weapons and powerful jaws.
While they enslave the smaller species, they don't seem to do much else, including caring for their own young. They get their captives by raiding the nests of the smaller species, stealing larvae and pupae. Once these ant babies mature in the acorn, they are expected to do all the work, including taking care of the slave-makers' eggs. Evolutionary scientists have said that such ants could not evolve resistance against their enslavement. However, now they have learned that the slave ants do indeed resist. Once the slave-makers' eggs mature to the pupal stage, the slave ants will neglect them or even eat them. This is behavior they do not do in their home colony. Researchers say the slave-maker ant queens lay enough eggs. However, between 60 and 80 percent never make it to maturity when cared for by captive slaves. Such population reductions help reduce additional raids on their home colonies. These ants clearly fight their slavery.
But not all slavery is physical. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Lord and Savior when we were enslaved by sin, death, and the devil.
Prayer: Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to free me from bondage to sin, death, and the devil. Amen.
Notes: www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/35309/title/Slave_ants-rebel, Susan Milius, "Slave Ants Rebel."
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