Fins, Feathers, and Faith: Wisdom from God's Amazing Creation - Hardcover

A man in Seattle was sitting in his kitchen, leaning on the table. Suddenly, it collapsed, throwing him to one side. Termites had eaten their way through the floor and ruined one of the table legs.

Termites will attack some living trees, but most of them enjoy a good snack on dead wood. A few prefer it wet, but most want it crunchy-dry.

This is a strange insect, because it eats something that isn’t healthy for it. There is something in wood called cellulose. A termite’s stomach can’t digest it. But there is a tiny creature, so small it can be seen only with a microscope, that lives in the termite. This one-celled organism eats the cellulose so the termite can get nourishment from it. Otherwise the termite would be eating wood and getting sick.

Termites are excellent at finding wood. It is possible that they can even smell it. Some types can dig under the ground and travel over one hundred feet. When they decide to come up, it will be directly under a tree.

One species of termite starts out in a quiet way. A female and male will dig into a piece of wood. They then make a glue and close up the hole. The queen starts immediately to lay eggs. Their family starts to grow and the children begin to eat the wood. Sometimes the family increases slowly. By the time the owner discovers the termites, his furniture will be practically wrecked by the little creatures.

The oddest termites live in Australia. The queen termite lays as many as three million eggs every year. She may live for twenty-five years. In her lifetime, this termite queen could lay seventy-five million eggs. To do this, her body has to swell to gigantic size.

The biggest enemy to the termite is the ant. Termites are usually afraid of this pesty relative. Some termites fight off ants with a sticky glue that comes out of the top of their heads. Ants get stuck in it and are left helpless.

When termites get inside a piece of wood, it may look solid. But it is being destroyed without our knowing it. The Bible says a person who is proud is also hurting himself and doesn’t know it.

Most of us like to brag. We say we are the best, the fastest, the smartest. But someday we are going to get hurt. People will stop being our friends. Someone will outrun us or get a better grade. It is good to be honest about our ability. We get hurt by bragging.

Pride ends in destruction; humility ends in honor.
-Proverbs 18:12 (TLB)
1. How do termites eat cellulose?

2. How many eggs can a queen termite lay?

3. How can we lose our friends?

KEEP US FROM BRAGGING.