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To: Physicist; Ichneumon
Physicist, It's obvious someone didn't read your whole Malevolent Design link (not that he should waste his time!)

Contained within:
"So one candidate for malevolent intelligent design would be the ichneumon wasp. This insect, of the order Hymenoptera (which includes wasps, bees, and ants) is actually a family of some 40,000 species. It typically lays its eggs on the larva or pupa (chrysalis) of a moth, butterfly, other insect or spider. After the ichneumon egg hatches, its larva will nourish itself by devouring the fats and body fluids of its host, but in such a clever way so that the host does not die until the ichneumon larva is ready to make its own cocoon. Whether this is certainly to be identified as malevolent may be disputed. After all, many of the insects that are killed by the Ichneumonidae are pests to human farmers. But it is certainly malevolent from the perspective of the host caterpillar!"
72 posted on 04/05/2006 3:33:20 PM PDT by whattajoke
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To: whattajoke

I think the original catepillar was caught eating an apple. Ichneumon is a just and wise consequense, and humane too, since it is instructive.


77 posted on 04/06/2006 12:22:31 PM PDT by js1138 (~()):~)>)
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