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.”

There is a species of ant that, although quite small, makes slaves of yet smaller ants. This slave-making ant makes its nest inside acorns, and 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-maker’s eggs mature to the pupa 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 future raids on their home colonies – home colonies they have never seen! Clearly, an altruistic objective.

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.” Photo: Queen and brood of the slave-maker Polyergus lucidus with Formica archboldi workers. Courtesy of Adrian A. Smith. (CC BY 2.5)