Black Fire Beetles (February 22)
Most animals flee from forest fires, but not the black fire beetles (Melanophila acuminate). They flock toward the fire! These unique beetles mate, and then the female lays her eggs in the bark of the still smoldering wood. The eggs hatch and burrow into the tree, free to munch away on trees without interference from the tree’s protective defenses.
During its lifetime, any given black fire beetle is statistically unlikely to ever experience a forest fire where it lives, so how does it find a burning forest for reproduction? On the underside of these beetles are tiny pits equipped with infrared radiation detection sensors. This infrared radiation detection system can detect the invisible heat rays given off by a forest fire up to 50 miles away! Do infrared radiation detection systems happen by accident and chance? Hardly! In fact, scientists are trying to copy this system in order to install them around forests to alert foresters when there is a fire. Scientists are only copying a good design. When we see an infrared radiation detection system, we know there must be an infrared radiation detection system Maker! And that Maker is God!