Evolution or Genius?

Theres this common pretty butterfly called the lime butterfly. Like all butterflies,it lays eggs which hatch into tiny caterpillars. These caterpillars look like bird droppings. Thats because birds love caterpillars but no self-respecting bird would eat a bird dropping. Now this presumes,that way back in the mists of time,a caterpillar must have hatched,which by some accident to its genes,had emerged looking like bird dropping unlike so far its siblings who probably made fun of it. But birds ignored it. So it grew into a butterfly and passed on its bird-dropping caterpillar gene if there is such a thing to its progeny. Most of its siblings without this genetic mutation got eaten. Gradually,only the caterpillars that resembled bird droppings survived and eventually all caterpillars of this species resembled bird droppings.

Ah,but thats just part one. Caterpillars are gluttons and put on weight and every so often shed their skin with a spanking new replacement skin ready underneath. And so,as it grew,the bird dropping caterpillar dropped its disguise and suddenly emerged as a beautiful leaf-green caterpillar and spent its days lying along the midrib of the leaf of its food plant lemon trees,in between orgies of eating. Again,the camouflage was perfect and this again assumes that at some time in the past,a bird dropping caterpillar must have accidentally changed into a leaf-green caterpillar and did better than its siblings that did not wear green. And so,the story repeats itself. Except that it still doesnt end. In the event that a bird or lizard does disturb this leaf-green caterpillar,it rears up in a rage like an attacking cobra with a blood-red gland called the osmeterium extruding from its head and emits a stinky odor,making the intruder back off. It is uncanny how much the osmeterium resembles the forked tongue of a snake.

The story still doesnt end here. Eventually,all caterpillars go into a vegetative state and spin cocoons around themselves as they prepare to become butterflies. The lime butterfly caterpillar is no exception. Now,some lime butterflies lay their eggs during the monsoon,and the cocoons spun by their caterpillars are also leaf-green and virtually invisible as everything is green at this time of the year. But some lime butterflies lay their eggs after the monsoon,when the foliage is dry and brown. And guess what? The pupae of these butterflies are wood-brown,matching the dried twigs and branches theyre slung on. Now is this cunning or what? And all happening and evolving by chance? Or is there monumental backroom boffin work going on here and developing such a strategy? Did the caterpillar have an inbuilt calendar that told it,hey,its October,so brown is the colour of the season. A humidity sensor perhaps that switched on which colour ought to be used? How the heck did that evolve?

This is just a simple everyday example. nature is full of such deviousness and works of wicked genius. Chameleons and octopuses are masters of camouflage and disguise changing their colours and behaviour in mind-bogglingly cunning and politician-like ways. Some creatures butterflies again dress up like other species which are known in the world of predators to be poisonous,so that they are left alone. Now how did that devious idea evolve? Mark my words,there is evil genius at work here a truly Machiavellian mind.

Scientists,of course,will scoff and snort,nonsense,remember Darwins finches? Creatures that adapted or had happy genetic mutations,survived and passed on these qualities to their progeny. And so on.

But when you think of the odds against that happening that for example,a caterpillar can emerge accidentally and so conveniently resembling a bird dropping and,therefore,survive it should make the gambler in you light up. If that can happen,surely youre all set to win the next multi-million dollar lottery sweepstakes.

Ranjit Lal is an author,environmentalist and bird watcher. In this column,he reflects on the eccentricities and absurdities of nature