Peter Borst wrote:

> You should examine the very notion of species and how modern taxonomists regard this. A species is *not* a natural division, but one that is arrived at provisionally by taxonomists. This is very gray territory.

Agree. Which is why it is prone to argument- since it all hinges on who
does the defining. Sort of the same with consciousness. Both are hard
lines to draw since they can be looked at as continuums. Taxonomists
seem to like externals more than internals.

Whoever makes the rules/draws the line wins the argument.

But generally, with species, it is a bit more than pesticide resistance,
which is where this part of the thread started. Especially if it is not
a stable state for the mite.

A Christian biology professor at Brown wrote Finding Darwin's God, an
excellent discussion on the subject of faith/religion and evolution-
here is a link

http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Brown_Alumni_Magazine/00/11-99/features/darwin.html

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Me