Believe it or not! It’s Alive!
By Christy Lowman
Burke County
This month I wanted to talk to you about a see-through animal that is very hard to see. It ranges anywhere from 5mm to 25mm in diameter. They are clear in color with a small white or green tint in areas of their body. It is bell-shaped and has tentacle legs.
This animal is called Craspedacusta Sowerbyi. It is also known as the Peach Blossom Fish or a Hydromedusa. It is a freshwater jellyfish. They have found this exact jellyfish living in Lake James in Burke County, NC.
This jellyfish has many stages in its lifecycles. It can produce polyp seeds which are tiny balls of cells that function like plant seeds. They can dry out like plant seeds and then come back to life when they get back in the water. Then they will reproduce more jellies. Since they can do this, transporting these jellies are super easy. They originally came all the way from the Yangtze River Valley in China to the United States and other parts of the world. It is believed that they caught a ride on ornamental aquatic plants, on fish, on waterfowl, on boats or gear, and even on the bottom of people’s shoes.
Hydromedusas are found mostly in flooded quarries, ponds, lakes, or the backwaters of rivers. They prefer their freshwater to be still or slow moving and in the temperature range of 53-90 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water temperature gets too cold for them, they can ball themselves up, complete with a casing around their bodies, and go dormant until the water gets warmer.
The Craspedacusta Sowerbyi has anywhere from 50-500 tentacles. There are usually 4 long tentacles together followed by 3-7 short tentacles, then the pattern repeats itself. The long tentacles are used for swimming and stability while the short tentacles are used for feeding themselves. Like other jellies, this freshwater jellyfish uses its tentacles to paralyze its food. It eats macroinvertebrates and small fish. This jellyfish’s sting is not supposed to hurt humans but some people say they have felt its sting.
These jellies don’t have any eyes, a brain, blood, or even a heart but yet are still very much alive. This got me thinking about souls. Each one of us has a tiny invisible soul inside of us. We can’t see it but it is there. It doesn’t have any eyes, a brain, a heart, or blood but it is very much alive as well. For sure, our soul is the most important part of us. Our body is just a temporary house for it to stay in until it is time for our soul to go to its permanent eternal home. It is up to us to decide where our soul will get to live: in heaven with God and Jesus or cursed in the pit of hell with Satan. Each one of us decides only for our soul, we can’t decide for anyone else’s, however, we can witness and tell them about Jesus so they will hopefully make the correct choice. You may think you have all the time in the world to decide to follow Jesus, but we are not guaranteed tomorrow. There is no better time than right now. It is the best decision you will ever make. I can’t wait to meet you and see you there!
If you want to accept Jesus as your personal Savior then find an adult, a pastor, or contact me to help you. All you have to do is say and believe this:
- We are all sinners (Rom. 3:10,23).
- The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).
- Jesus paid for our sins when he died on the cross (Rom. 5:8).
- Salvation comes by faith, by confessing with our mouths and believing in our hearts (Rom. 10:9,10).
- Ask the Lord for salvation (Rom. 10:13).
Dear Lord, I pray that we will all take the time to accept you as our personal savior. Help us make the correct decision to where our soul will live forever. In Jesus’s precious name I pray, Amen.
Bibliography
https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=1068
https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/CollectionInfo.aspx?SpeciesID=1068&State=NC
http://www.blueridgerealtywnc.com/lake_james_nc.htm
https://www.bpr.org/news/2018-12-20/biologist-moves-to-wnc-to-study-jellyfish
http://lifeinfreshwater.net/freshwater-jellyfish-craspedacusta-sowerbyi/
________________________________________
Christy Lowman is a Christian author and illustrator that lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with her husband and two children. She enjoys writing and illustrating books for all ages. Some of her short stories are published with Guideposts and HCI. Christy gives all the glory to God in everything she does. A portion of every book sold from the Small Bible Character Series will be donated to battle human trafficking. If you enjoy her books, “like’ her author page on Facebook and let her know! You can buy her books at //www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AChristy+Lowman&s=relevancerank&text=Christy+Lowman&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1. You can reach her at //www.facebook.com/authorChristyLowman/
or christyssoaps@yahoo.com
You can read more Christian news from Christy here.
______________________________________
