Page 85 - The Miracle in the Ant

food is abundant in winter. The creature who has to make all these de-
cisions is an insect such as we will probably never come across in our
entire lives. It is quite illogical to expect an insect to make such deci-
sions.
Still, even if we believe that this system has developed in such a way,
the questions we face do not come to an end. How does this insect ar-
rive at the nest while moving from one nest to the other? When it’s very
difficult to find the way in the forest even for an intelligent person, how
can a migrant insect which is one thousandth the size of a man contrive
to find an ant hill in a huge forest?
The answer, "by going towards the light" does not really provide any
explanation, because light may be coming from at least 2-3 different
fronts. There are areas many square metres wide, where it arrives by go-
ing towards the light, before the nest it seeks may be found. (Let us not
forget that for a creature the size of an insect, an area measured in
square metres is the same as several square kilometres for us). Here, the
scent recognition process starts, but that too is quite astonishing, be-
cause it is very difficult to distinguish a single scent from all the others
in a forest where hundreds of ant colonies live and where also thou-
sands of different scents other than those of the ants exist. Moreover, it
is interesting that an insect, which spends a whole summer somewhere
else, can keep this scent in its memory.
Lastly, let us think about the following: even if we pick up this insect
and put it in front of the entry to the suitable ant nest ourselves, it will
be very difficult for it to live in it because, as we know, ants also have
very strong recognition ability. As they do not accept even an ant which
does not belong to their colony, they will of course treat this insect as
hostile and will throw it out of the nest. However, things do not turn out
like this and the insect is treated quite hospitably. It is argued that this
is because of the positive effect of a chemical which it gives out from its
body. Then how does the migrant insect know that it can influence the
ants with this substance and understand that it can reverse this hostile
behaviour? Has it succeeded in producing the ideal substance by decid-
ing to manufacture it itself?
Of course, it is impossible to answer these questions positively. There
is an obvious picture that one can see. The said insect is doing things

Harun Yahya 85