The Wonders of God’s Creation
The swarm of flies sent by the Lord was one of the ways in which Pharaoh was punished for refusing to let the Israelites worship the Lord. It must have been a terrible experience, because the housefly is a nasty pest and a carrier of diseases, as well. We should be thankful for spiders, frogs, lizards and birds that help keep them in check.
Not all flies are filthy and harmful; many species are actually helpful, especially to farmers. One of these has a name much bigger than itself—Larvavaridea, also called the Flying Hedgehog. Its activities are entirely different than the housefly. Unfortunately, they look alike and are frequently killed as a result.
The Flying Hedgehog has clean habits and does not visit the filthy places preferred by its cousins. Unlike the housefly, it does not lay eggs, but gives birth to living maggots, laid on leaves of plants that are eaten by caterpillars. The maggot is so tiny that the caterpillar does not see it, but swallows it when biting the leaf. Unharmed, the maggot passes down the caterpillar’s throat and eats its tissues, finally killing it. The maggot soon transforms into a full-grown fly and is ready to produce more of its kind. As an adult, it is no hazard to people’s health. Its food is not decayed matter and garbage which the housefly enjoys. Instead, it eats the nectar of flowers. As it gathers this nectar, it helps in the growth of flowers and fruits by transferring pollen from one plant to another.
There is another good fly, but with a bad-sounding name, called the Robber Fly. It is equipped with spiny legs and a sharp beak. Perching on a stone or piece of wood until an insect comes along, it darts out suddenly, catching it in its hairy legs and carrying it back to its perch to eat. Actually, there are more than five thousand kinds of Robber Flies throughout the world, and all help mankind by destroying harmful insects.
Another one of interest is the Ichneumon, a very small fly with a dagger on the end of its abdomen. Using this, it pierces aphids and lays eggs inside them. When the eggs hatch out, they eat the aphid. They are also destroyers of the harmful Sawfly, which kills trees by tunneling in them. The Ichneumon goes right into the wood and lays its eggs near the Sawfly, and the harmful Sawfly larvae are found and eaten.
There are many other “good” flies, but there is not enough space here to tell about them. How they destroy harmful pests is another evidence of God’s goodness in keeping mankind from being overwhelmed by bad flies.
But He is good to us in even more important ways than this, too. We are told in Joel 2:1313And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. (Joel 2:13): “Turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful.” In Romans 2:44Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? (Romans 2:4) we are warned not to despise “the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.” Yes, the Saviour would have you taste and see that He is good. If you have not yet done this, won’t you come to Him today?
ML-09/13/1981