Page 384 - Atlas of Creation Volume 4
P. 384
Spittlebug
Period: Eocene
Age: 50 million years
Region: Poland
Spittlebugs, members of the family Cercopidae, are known for the foam they produce during the
larval stage.
The larvae manufacture a foam-like substance using the sap of the leaves they live on and co-
coon themselves with it. This foam, or ‘spit,’ benefits the larvae in a number of ways, and pro-
tects them from predators, parasites and the effects of excessive hot and cold. The foam also
prevents the larvae from drying out by providing a constantly moist environment.
Adult spittlebugs jump from one plant to another and can leap up to 100 times their own body
length.
As with all living things, beetles have different and incomparable ways of protecting themsel-
ves, finding food and reproducing. That is Allah’s creation in line with every living thing’s ne-
eds. No insect ever acquired the characteristics it has by experimenting with different stages
and adapting its own biological structure. It would have neither the intelligence or power to
do so. The 50-million-year-old spittlebug in the picture had the same features as spittlebugs ali-
ve today. Indeed, the spittlebug can clearly be seen to have been fossilized in amber together
with its surrounding foam.
382 Atlas of Creation Vol. 4
