[Via io9] This is a picture of an ant stinging a centipede. The stinger isn’t just randomly inserted into the centipede’s head. These ants are specialist predators of centipedes, and its venom paralyzes the centipede’s brain. The ant will then drag the centipede back to its nest where ant larvae can eat it.
I can’t help but be reminded of my young-earth-creationist upbringing; which taught that everything on earth was created “good” by God 6,000 years ago. There was no death and no predators; animals simply adapted to predatory roles after Adam sinned. As for the existence of venom – I don’t remember that ever being discussed.
One other thing to notice about the picture is how much the ants look like wasps. I’d read in the past that ants were evolutionarily closely related to wasps. These ants look an awful lot like wasps without wings.
To see a few more pictures of ants and other bugs, go here.
And if you’re not too squeamish:
[...] Nature: ants attack a centipede; note that the ants are genetically related to wasps. The blogger wonders what this means for those who think of nature being “intelligently designe… [...]