“Almost Impossible to Believe”: Interspecies Cloning Seen in Ants

Yes, that’s as complicated as it sounds. The researcher who led the team that made this discovery says this ant is “in a sense, the most complex, colonial life form we know of so far.” Another researcher said this finding “is almost impossible to believe and pushes our understanding of evolutionary biology.”

When researchers looked at these ants’ genetics, they were puzzled by how “unexpectedly diverse” the DNA was, which at first seemed to imply that the “queens had mated with distantly related males.” Turns out, those males belonged to a whole separate species . . . and that species didn’t always live nearby—colonies were sometimes over 430 miles (700 kilometers) away! So what’s going on? Well, here’s how they think it works:

The M. ibericus queens are cloning the M. structor males. The queens allow the M. structor sperm to enter their eggs, but at some point they remove their own genes from the egg’s nucleus to prevent fertilization, thereby ensuring the egg develops into a male and not a sterile female worker. By keeping these cloned males on hand, M. ibericus ant colonies can live in places that lack M. structor.

If you’re confused, don’t feel bad. Another scientist looking at the research admitted it’s “a bit mind-bending.” And it gets more complicated for evolutionists:

What’s more, the two species have been separated for quite a while. The two ants’ nuclear DNA suggests they last shared a common ancestor some 5 million years ago.

Consider, for a moment, what “quite a while”—5 million years—actually means, according to evolutionary ideas. Just 5–7 million years ago, our human lineage supposedly split from chimpanzees. So in five(ish) million years, the vast genetic differences to produce a chimpanzee and a human managed to evolve . . . but these ants stayed so genetically similar that they can not only interbreed but the females can clone the other species!

Evolution isn’t grounded in reality (or in observational science). It’s a fictional story applied to the evidence whether or not it makes any sense.

That’s a fairy tale; it’s wishful thinking. Evolution isn’t grounded in reality (or in observational science). It’s a fictional story applied to the evidence whether or not it makes any sense.

In a biblical worldview, we know these ants belong to the same created kind (species is a modern word that is becoming more and more difficult to properly define!). It’s no surprise they can interbreed, and this cloning is just another example of the incredible diversity and complexity of God’s creation.

These ants didn’t diverge genetically millions of years ago. They were created by God on day six of creation week, just 6,000 years ago, with all their complexity!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.