The Earth is a "Planet in Love"

While God forbids lust, it seems he also praises love. He blesses marriage as sacred.

So, if you wonder if humans are the only ones who fall in love, when you look at nature, you'll find that it's actually quite amazing...

I saw this on an NHK animal show recently: a male deep-sea squid was illuminating its entire body to attract females! Here's the AI ​​explanation:

The most famous squid that "attracts females by illuminating" is the firefly squid, also familiar in Japan. Recent research has also discovered a species that displays a surprising courtship behavior that combines "ink and luminescence (white glow)."

Here are some of the most notable examples:

1. Firefly Squid

Firefly squids, famous for their "suicide jump" in Toyama Bay, have hundreds of light organs all over their bodies.

Communication through light: Firefly squids have excellent vision, able to distinguish between three colors: blue, light blue, and green. It is believed that males and females communicate (signal) using flashing light patterns.

Intense light on the tips of their arms: They use the large light organs at the tips of their arms to make their presence known and attract mates in dark ocean waters.

2. Siberian Snapper Squid (Newly Discovered in 2024)

Recently (announced in 2024), a research team from the University of Tokyo uncovered a very unique courtship behavior.

Ink "Background": At the climax of courtship, males spit ink over a wide area behind the female, darkening the seawater.

Shining White Body: Against this dark "ink background," they make their own bodies glow pure white, as if dancing in front of the female.

Purpose: By darkening the background with ink, it is thought that their white glow stands out even more, making them appear more "enhanced."

3. Giant Jumbo Squid (Ommastrephes japonicus)

This large deep-sea squid uses light organs under its skin to make its entire body flash intensely in red and white.

"Backlight" display: By simultaneously controlling the chromatophores (color-changing cells) and photophore in their skin, they create complex patterns. It's believed that this is used for inter-sex communication and as a courtship signal.

Summary: Squid Light Display Methods

Type Characteristics

Firefly squid: They communicate with their mates or the opposite sex by flashing blue light in rhythm.

Siberian porgy: They create a dark background with ink and their bodies glow (reflect) white light, making them stand out.

Striped flounder: They flash their entire body like an LCD screen, creating complex patterns to attract attention.

For squid, "light" and "color" are important presentation tools that allow them to appear attractive in the dark ocean.

Would you like to learn more about how these squid change color and the mysterious courtship of the deep sea?  (AI end)

What a bunch of them!

Oh no, I lost. Squids fall in love, too.

Bowerbirds also build beautiful, artistic structures in front of their nests to attract females. The AI ​​explains this below.

The most famous birds that attract females with "artistic nest-building" are the Bowerbirds (garden birds/bowerbirds) found in Oceania.

The things they create are works of art that are more worthy of being called "love display venues" than "nests."

The Bowerbird's Incredible Artistry

Male Bowerbirds build elaborate bowers out of twigs, solely for the purpose of attracting females and mating. What's truly amazing is the attention to detail they put into their decorations.

Color Coordination:

Different species have specific color preferences. For example, the Blue-and-White Bowerbird loves the color blue, and will eagerly collect and decorate them with blue flowers, feathers, and even blue plastic bottle caps and straws discarded by humans.

Using Optical Illusions (Perspective):

Research has shown that birds such as the Great Bowerbird use optical illusions (perspective) to make themselves appear larger and more impressive by adjusting the size of stones or shells placed at their entrances.

They even paint:

Some species chew plant juices or charcoal in their mouths and use the resulting paint to paint the walls of their gazebos.

A Stage, Not a Nest

Interestingly, this impressive structure is not a "nest" for laying eggs or raising chicks. If the female likes the building's design or the male's dance and mates, she will build a simple, real nest elsewhere and raise her young there.

Other "Architect" Birds

While not as specialized in "decoration" as the Bowerbird, some birds still impress with their construction skills.

Weaverbirds: Males skillfully weave grass together to create intricate, hanging, pouch-like nests. The female checks the nest for its strength and quality, and if she's not satisfied, the male may destroy it and rebuild it.

Kappa-shoe Bowerbird:

They build huge mushroom-shaped houses and create a "garden" by arranging colorful fruits and flowers in front of them.

If you'd like to know more about a bird you saw on a TV show or in a photo, please let us know about its characteristics, such as "it only collected blue things" or "it was shaped like a tunnel," and we'll be able to narrow down our search even further. (AI end)

Wow, that's impressive. Birds fall in love, too. Come to think of it, peacocks' beautiful feathers are also there to attract females. Other than that, they're heavy and have no practical use. Peacocks risk their lives for love.

Most of the beautiful bird calls are actually courtship songs.

Also, in the fall, you can hear the beautiful chirps of insects at night, and those are also courtship sounds. If you open the window, you can practically hear a chorus of them. And in the summer, cicadas buzz loudly. This is also a courtship sound, isn't it? Aren't most of the animal sounds we hear love songs?

Plants are no exception. Flowers are their reproductive organs. Pollen flies from the stamens, attaches to the pistil, fertilizes it, and produces fruit, seeds, and offspring. Cherry blossoms bloom in the spring, and flowers bloom throughout the seasons—all of these are plants in love.

When we perceive nature as beautiful, isn't that because living things are in love?

The Earth is a "Planet in Love."

And the producer of this is God. God thinks it would be boring if living things simply mated and reproduced according to their sexual desires, so he has prepared a special performance for them.

God is the "mastermind of love."

God is the "producer of love."

And there's more. Mayflies remain larval stages for their entire lives, only to mature into adults in the final few hours or days. They then all fly through the sky at once, mate, and die. The climax of their lives is marriage. And then they die immediately. More on the AI ​​below.

Mayflies have an incredible survival strategy for reproduction, specializing in efficiency and speed, even among the insect kingdom. Their lives, synonymous with ephemerality, are entirely designed for this moment of reproduction.

1. Adults Exist Only for Mating

Adult mayflies abandon eating and sleeping the moment they emerge from their cocoons.

No Mouth or Digestive Organs: While they eat well as larvae, their mouths degenerate as adults, and their stomachs and intestines transform into pouches that trap air and lighten their bodies.

Extremely Short Lifespans: Depending on the species, adult lifespans range from a few hours to a few days. Some species finish reproducing and die just five minutes after emerging from their cocoons.

2. Aerial Mass Matchmaking (Gunpi): "Swarming"

To efficiently find mates, mayflies emerge en masse at specific times (such as dusk) and form huge swarms.

Swarming: Males dance up and down above the river, and females dive in.

Aerial Mating: Males have very long front legs, which they use to firmly grasp females in mid-air and mate while flying.

Defense by Numbers: This strategy ensures the survival of offspring by overwhelming their numbers (saturation attack) to overcome the risk of being eaten by predators (fish and birds).

3. The Life-Saving "Upstream Flight" and Egg-Laying

After mating, females have one last important task ahead of them.

Upstream Journey: Because larvae are easily swept downstream by river currents, females make the effort to fly upstream (anadromic flight).

Spawning: The female lays eggs by slamming her abdomen against the water's surface. After spawning, she loses all her strength and falls to the surface, ending her life (this is called a "spinner fall" in fly fishing terms).

Summary of Mayfly's Surprising Characteristics

Characteristics

Content

Life Cycle: Spends nearly a year as a larva, then reaches adulthood (breeding season) for a few hours to a few days.

Unique Ability: The only insect to molt while still retaining its wings (subadult → adult).

Ultimate Minimalism: All parts except for those necessary for reproduction (wings, genitals, sensory organs) have degenerated.

For mayflies, the adult stage is a "glorious, few-hour celebration to pass on life to the next generation."

Next, let's take a closer look at the mysterious subadult stage, just before mayflies reach adulthood. (AI end)

Yes, they too risk their lives for love.

Come to think of it, cicadas remain as larvae underground for years, and when they finally emerge as adults, they only live for about a week. During that time, they have to fall in love and reproduce. That's why they chirp so desperately and loudly. It's as if all living things, not just cicadas, are born to fall in love.

I'm sure there are many more examples, but I'll stop here for today since I could go on forever.

Life is sacred.

So, marriage, which is connected to life, is also sacred.

So, love, which is connected to life, is also sacred.

But what about sexual desire, which is connected to it?

It is sacred insofar as it leads to love, marriage, and life.

So, while God blesses love and marriage, he also places a brake on lust.

Let love and mercy guide you

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