In
a very distinctive story told by the holy Quran about the prophet
Solomon and a group of ants, Quran stated that ants can speak to each
others.
حَتَّىٰ إِذَا أَتَوْا عَلَىٰ وَادِ النَّمْلِ قَالَتْ
نَمْلَةٌ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ لَا
يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَانُ وَجُنُودُهُ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ.
فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًا مِّن قَوْلِهَا
“Till, when they came to the valley of
the ants, one of the ants said: ‘O ants! enter Your dwellings, lest
Sulaimân (Solomon) and his hosts crush you, while they perceive not.’ So
He [Sulaimân (Solomon)] smiled, amused at her speech.”
(Quran 27:18-19)
This fact stated in Quran 1400 years ago, and in a very astonishing
accordance between Quran and scientific discoveries, science magazine
published on [6 February 2009] a new scientific research entitled (Queen
Ants Make Distinctive Sounds That Are Mimicked by a Butterfly Social
Parasite), and again science proves that Quran can not be told by human,
it must be revealed by God the creator of this universe.
The
new discovery says “Advances in audio technology have enabled scientists
to discover that ants routinely talk to each other in their nests. Most
ants have a natural washboard and plectrum built into their abdomens
that they can rub together to communicate using sound.
Using
miniaturized microphones and speakers that can be inserted unobtrusively
into nests; researchers established that the queens can issue
instructions to their workers.
The astonished researchers, who
managed to make the first recordings of queen ants “speaking”, also
discovered that other insects can mimic the ants to make them slaves.
Rebel’s large blue butterfly is one of about 10,000 creatures that have
a parasitic relationship with ants and has now been found to have
learnt to imitate the sounds as well as using chemical signals.
The butterfly’s caterpillars are carried by ants into the nests where
they beg for food and are fed by the workers. When a colony is disturbed
the ants will rescue the caterpillars before their own broods.
Research several decades ago had shown that ants were able to make
alarm calls using sounds, but only now has it been shown that their
vocabulary may be much bigger and that they can “talk” to each other.
Professor Jeremy Thomas, of the University of Oxford, said improvements
in technology had made the discoveries possible because it meant the
ants could be recorded and subjected to playbacks without becoming
alarmed.
By placing miniature speakers into the nest and
playing back sounds made by a queen, the researchers were able to
persuade ants to stand to attention.
“When we played the queen
sounds they did ‘en garde’ behaviour. They would stand motionless with
their antennae held out and their jaws apart for hours – the moment
anyone goes near they will attack,” he said.
He described how the ants would press their antennae to the speaker just as they would seek to greet another ant in the nest.
Professor Thomas said it remained unclear how much the ants relied on
sound for language but he suspected that further analysis would reveal a
wider vocabulary than had been seen yet.
“The most important
discovery is that within the ant colony different sounds can provoke
different reactions,” he said. “I would be very surprised if we didn’t
get different types of sound.
“It’s within the power of the ant to play different tunes by changing the rhythm with which they rub.”
He added that the detection of the role of sounds provided the “final
piece of the jigsaw” to explain how Rebel’s large blue caterpillars
survive in ants’ nests and should help to guide conservationists in
trying to save the endangered European mountain species.
Francesca Barbero, of the University of Turin, said: “Our new work shows
that the role of sound in information exchange within ant colonies has
been greatly underestimated.”
Karsten Schönrogge, of the
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in Oxfordshire, said the mimicry by
the caterpillars was so convincing that the ants afforded them higher
status than their own young. They will even slaughter their own young to
feed the interlopers when food is scarce.
This new discovery
and others in each scientific field witness to the divinity of this book
and the unlimited power of Allah (SWT).
Finally all Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the entire universe.
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