Amber is fossilized resin from coniferous trees. Its natural beauty has been admired for centuries.
Amber and ‘trapped’ life
Amber reveals an extraordinary range of preserved plant and animal material. Within the solidified resin, scientists have found crustaceans, lizards, frogs, worms, spiders, and insects such as bees and cockroaches, all remarkably well preserved and identifiable within their respective kinds. For instance, gastropod molluscs, or snails, have been discovered in mid-Cretaceous amber with their soft tissues intact. This amber is dated by evolutionary theory to around 90 million years ago.1 Birds2 and snakes3 have also been found preserved in amber.
Iridescent insects
Palaeontologists in northern Burma recently made a striking discovery when they found three fossilised insects trapped in amber:4 a beetle, a wasp, and a fly. What is extraordinary is that their original colours could still be identified. These insects display structural iridescent hues, subtle colours formed on the surface of their bodies through light interference. The specimens clearly show iridescent blue, green, and purple.4
What is the reason for their iridescence?
Evolutionary scientists believe that the beetle, wasp, and fly are approximately 99 million years old. Nonetheless, they remain uncertain about how or why these insects developed their iridescent colours.
James Lamsdell, a palaeobiologist at the University of West Virginia and a proponent of evolutionary theory, remarked that each species appears to have evolved iridescent features independently.4 The article describing the discovery noted the difficulty of explaining this phenomenon, stating that although scientists may speculate about the evolutionary pressures that led to iridescence in these different insects, there is no definitive way to determine the cause.4 According to evolutionists, the purpose of iridescence ‘remains unclear’.5 As the amber dates to the Cretaceous period, there is no way to trace the evolutionary development of these traits over time.4
Is there another explanation?
Evolutionary scientists acknowledge that insect iridescence appears suddenly and in a fully developed state, yet their reliance on random evolutionary pressures offers no clear explanation for its origin. If, however, God created the Earth and all life upon it, it is possible that He designed this intricate phenomenon purely for its beauty, for aesthetic purposes, to bring delight to both His eyes and ours.
By the way, we recommend reading the articles:
- Did Dinosaurs Live in Alaska?
- Lucy: Human Ancestor or Extinct Ape?
- The Transformation of Fins into Limbs
- Homo Erectus – Ape or Human?
- Bear Dogs – Gone Forever?
Footnotes
- Xing, L., et al. (2019) ‘Juvenile snail with preserved soft tissue in mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar suggests a cyclophoroidean (Gastropoda) ancestry’, Cretaceous Research, 93, pp. 114–119. See also Thomas, B. (2018) ‘Published Reports of Original Soft Tissue Fossils’, ICR.org, 17 September. Available at: https://www.icr.org/article/published-reports-original-soft-tissue-fossils/
- Pickrell, J. (2018) ‘Exclusive: Dinosaur-Era Bird Found Trapped in Amber’, National Geographic, 3 February. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/exclusive-dinosaur-era-bird-found-trapped-in-amber/
- ‘Rare Baby Snake Fossil Found in Amber From Age of Dinosaurs’ (2018) Geology In, 25 July. Available at: https://geologyin.com/2018/07/rare-baby-snake-fossil-found-in-amber-from-age-of-dinosaurs.html/
- Eschner, K. (2020) ‘These insects preserved in amber are still glowing 99 million years later’, Popular Science, 2 July. Available at: https://www.popsci.com/science/amber-glowing-insects/
- White, T. E. (2018) ‘Illuminating the Evolution of Iridescence’, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 33(6), pp. 374–375.
Based on: F. Sherwin, Amber insect fossils still glow, Acts & Facts, Institute for Creation Research, September 2020, p. 15.
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