Peacock Spiders
The Peacock Spider of Australia is only about ¼ inch in size but displays a fantastic, colorful design. It is hardly the horrible, detestable image most people connect with spiders. In the words of Michael Eggleton (Creation magazine, Vol.39, No. 3, 2017), “its abdomen is covered by a dense layer of intricately designed scales, similar to those on some butterflies…” Some colors like red and yellow are produced by pigments, “but the iridescent blue is a structural color…” The tiny patterns of the scales affect the color based on the angle of the observer and the direction from which the light comes.
Why would beauty be invested in such a tiny creature? There is no evolutionary explanation because these colors would do the opposite of giving it a survival
advantage. It would be making itself noticeable, not camouflaged. Added beauty does not fit into the scheme of chance mutations for natural selection. Rather, it points to a Creator who just loves to make beautiful things.
We are the benefactors of creative beauty in so many ways.
Henry Wiebe