The Acorn Weevil and its Drilling Mechanism

The acorn weevil lives on the acorns of an oak tree. There is a moderately long snout on the head of this insect, which is actually longer than its own body. At the end of this snout, it has small but extremely sharp saw like teeth.

At other times, the insect holds this snout horizontal, in line with its body, so that it does not interfere when it walks. However, when it is on an acorn, it tilts this snout towards it. Then the insect looks very much like a drilling machine. It leans the saw-like teeth at the tip of its snout against the acorn. The insect turns its head from one side to the other, moving the snout, which starts to drill the acorn. The head of the insect is of a perfect design for the job and displays an extraordinary level of flexibility.

While drilling with its snout, it also feeds on the fruit inside the acorn. However, it saves the largest portion for its offspring. After drilling, the insect leaves a single egg in the acorn, dropping it there through the hole. Inside the acorn, the egg becomes a larva and starts eating it. The more the larva eats, the more it grows; the more it grows, the more it eats.

This feeding continues until the acorn falls from the branch, which is the signal for the larva that it is time to leave. By means of its strong teeth, it enlarges the hole that its mother made. The extremely fat larva gets out of the acorn with a great deal of struggle. Now the goal for the larva is to tunnel down about 25-30 centimeters under the ground. There it goes through pupation and waits for one to five years. When it becomes a full grown adult, it climbs up and starts drilling acorns in turn. The time differential in the pupation period depends on the new growth of the acorns on the tree. The interesting life cycle of the acorn weevil is another evidence of the flawless creation of God, and it nullifies the arguments of the theory of evolution. Each mechanism of the insect has been designed within a certain plan. The drilling snout, the cutting teeth on the tip, the flexible structure of the head which helps drilling, cannot all be explained solely by coincidences and "natural selection". The long snout would have been nothing more than a great burden and a disadvantage if it weren't successfully used for drilling, which is why it cannot be argued to have evolved "phase by phase".

On the other hand, the organs and instincts of the larva illustrate the "irreducible complexity" of the process. The larva has to have teeth powerful enough to cut its way out of the acorn, has to "know" to dive deep into the ground and has to "wait" there patiently.

Otherwise, the creature could not survive but would become extinct. All of these cannot be explained by coincidence, but show that the creation of these beings displays a superior wisdom.

God has created this creature with flawless organs and instincts. He is "the Maker" of everything. (Qur'an, 59:24)