Cicada Discovery Debunks Common Misconception

Periodical cicadas emerge every 13 or 17 years in the eastern US, depending on the brood. When young cicadas hatch, they burrow into the ground and drink the juices from plant roots until the next emergence. Scientists long believed that, after emerging, adult cicadas don’t eat since they lack chewing mouthparts. But after analyzing the gut contents of 75 periodical cicadas, researchers found the DNA of 22 different kinds of plants, proving the adult insects do indeed slurp sustenance.

As we study God’s creation, we continually learn new things. Sometimes our discoveries debunk formerly held beliefs. This is the nature of observational science. But historical science—the history of how the world began—is based on whether we believe in the Genesis creation account or in millions of years of evolution. What we know about God’s world changes, but the origin account in God’s Word does not change. Observational science will always confirm the historical science we find in the Bible—because the Bible is true.

This article is from Answers magazine, April–June, 2024, p. 19.