Bug Baits Bug

All of us are familiar with using bait to lure prey. Both live and artificial bait are used to catch fish. Stores lure shoppers with sale prices. The use of both bait and camouflage is an even more sophisticated activity. The duck hunter not only hides in a blind, disguised to look like the natural surroundings, but he sets decoys around him to make it look as if the area is safe for ducks.

The juvenile assassin bug is just as sophisticated as the duck hunter. Assassin bugs are very fond of termites. A juvenile assassin bug will glue bits of the termites’ nest to its body until it is nearly invisible against the nest. The bug will then patiently wait for a termite to wander too close. The first termite caught is drained by the assassin bug, and then its body is dangled in front of an opening in the nest.

When a nest mate dies, termites usually save the body as a protein source in their protein-poor diet. As a termite grabs for the body of its nest mate, the assassin bugs pulls the body back. The termite is lured further out of the nest until it is grabbed for lunch. The second termite is then used as bait. Scientists report that they once watched a single assassin bug dispose of 31 termites in three hours doing this!

The juvenile assassin bug is every bit as clever about its hunting as the human duck hunter. In its own way, it proves that intelligence did not evolve; it is a gift of our all-wise Creator.

1 Timothy 6:9
“But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and [into] many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.”

Prayer: Grant me, dear Father, a thirst for Your Word, so that I may know Your truth and wisdom. I ask that my immersion in Your Word may prepare me to resist and flee the lures of the devil so that I may serve You now and forever. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Notes: “Bugs that Use Bait.” Science 83. P. 6. Photo: Taken by Fernando Otálora Luna, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.