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Politics : Evolution -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: TigerPaw who wrote (1170)8/13/2000 10:21:08 PM
From: TigerPaw  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 69300
 
Survival of the Unfit 
Darwin stated that a single example of an inferior species surviving by the sacrifice of a more fit
species would negate his theory - Some species of beetles and ants will break open their own eggs
to feed the fungus they grow. Some ants nurture the insect parasite Lomechusa even to neglect of their own young.
Carpenter Ants will defend Atemeles Beetle
larvae in preference to their own young, the beetle then feeds on the ant larvae. Tetramoria Ants
will rescue and care for a Anergates Queen, then kill their own queen and raise the Anergate's young,
killing their own queen is suicide for colony. Cuckoo Birds practice parasitism on other birds
who go along with the ruse. Amaxon Ants cannot feed itself nor rear its young, slave ants do it for them.


These are all examples of parasitic creatures preying on other creatures. The only difference between this an a lion eating a wildebeast is the time scale. The parasites kill a colony more slowly. Darwin never said that just because some members of a species get eaten by others that it would invalidate the premise. That's like saying people are inferior because viruses hijack their cells to make virus copies.
TP