This informative post will be published on Saturday in place of my regular one. You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

How can a person go 25 days without sleep?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

One of nature’s most colorful insects is the dragonfly. Here are some quick facts about this species:

Size: 3/4 to 5 inches in length
Color: Varies, but many are blue, green, or brown with clear wings
Habitat: near ponds and slow-moving streams
Diet: insects, including mosquitoes

As a flying insect, the dragonfly’s body is long and thin. Two sets of clear, veined wings work together as the dragonfly is constantly in flight.

The four wings move independently of each other, and this enables the dragonfly to fly forward or backward. It has the ability to hover much like a helicopter, and it can travel at speeds of up to 35 mph.

With its large eyes, the dragonfly experiences a nearly 360-degree field of vision. Its long legs are not designed for walking, but they become useful in holding its captured prey while in flight.

A dragonfly can consumer large numbers of mosquitoes, easily between 30 and 100 per day. It’s no wonder that dragonfly has been nicknamed the “mosquito hawk.”

The life cycle of the dragonfly begins with a female inserting eggs one-by-one into a cut slit in the stem of a waterplant. By spring or summer, fully-grown naiads will crawl out of the water habitat to mature as adults.