Page 54 - The Miracle of Termites

Harun Yahya

Symbiosis: a Balance Within a Balance
Among the many examples of symbiosis in nature is that of ter-

mites and the unicellular protozoa living in their intestines. The flag-
ellates that live and move about with their flagella in the termites' in-
testines possess special enzymes able to break down the cellulose of
the ingested wood and making it utilizable for themselves and their
hosts. This process takes place in a special section of the termites' in-
testinal tract that has widened to form a fermentation chamber. The
flagellates multiply profusely, supplying their hosts with not only di-
gestible carbohydrates but also with their necessary protein—because
the surplus population of these small organisms is itself digested in

the termites' gut. 23
These single-celled protozoa could not survive on their own and
so they become attached to termites and other insects. On the other
hand, if these single-celled creatures did not exist, termites could not
digest the cellulose in wood and provide energy for themselves.
For this reason, the two creatures must have come together at the
same time. If termites were born in the absence of these single-celled

creatures, they would die from being unable to digest their food. But
as usual, evolutionists assert that these creatures came into existence
in various ways through some imaginary process of evolution and lat-
er decided to enter into a symbiotic relationship with one another. But
then, evolutionists are bound to answer the question of how termites
and the protozoa could manage to survive before they encountered
each other.
What contradicts evolutionist claims in this symbiosis is that
these two creatures must have come into existence at the same time.

Evolutionist claims assume that creatures are in a state of constant de-
velopment, choosing whatever ways of behavior are most beneficial
and advantageous for them. This being the case, the symbiotic rela-

52 THE MIRACLE OF TERMITES