Page 44 - The Miracle in the Spider

44 THE MIRACLE IN THE SPIDER

Spiders like Wheels
Some species of spiders in the Namibian desert in South-west Africa,
when faced by danger, fully retract their legs and make their bodies
exactly like a wheel. Then, with a series of somersaults with their wheel-

shaped bodies, they rapidly move away from the danger.
These spiders measure some 2.5-3 centimetres and can move quite
quickly, at 2 metres a second. In order to grasp what this speed means, let
us give an example. The rotation of the spider's body in its wheel form is
that of the wheels of a vehicle moving at 40 kilometres an hour.
Some species of spider use this technique to flee from their enemies.
Most of the time these enemies are wild female raider wasps. When the
spider, which builds it nest on the tops of sand hills, senses the wasps
beginning to dig at its nest, it rushes outside. First it takes a few steps to
build up speed, then it folds in its five-jointed legs, and gathering speed
like a wheel rolling downhill, flees. If the spider built its nest at the bottom
of sand hills, then it would be unable to get up the necessary speed and
would be caught. For that reason it chooses to build its nest at the tops of
the hills. That it should take such a precaution as to build its nest on a hill,
without having come across an enemy, is a conscious piece of behaviour.

Without doubt it was God Who inspired it to do this. God creates without
any preceding example, and He is aware of all creation.