DRAGONFLY

The young dragonfly begins life in the water as a naiad. It feeds on tiny insects and fish. It has long legs which hold the insects it captures while flying. Dragonflies perform good deeds, too: they love to eat mosquitoes. Many dragonfly species live in marshes near rivers and ponds.

Materials:

One sheet lime green stock

Two sheets black construction paper

2 feet Paper Twist (any color)

Circle cutter or template of a circle

Pointed tip scissors

Circle punch

Ruler

White glue

String

Thin gauge wire

Project:

1. Cut two 3 ½”, three 3”, twelve 1 ½”, six 1”, and eight circle punches.
2. Cut two ¼” x ½” strips of black construction paper.
3. Cut two 2” circles out of the lime green paper.
4. Place on 3” circle and two circle punches aside. Separate the remaining circle and punches into two piles.
5. To make the body, glue one 3 ½” circle with the edge of one 3” circle, then glue six 1 ½” circles in a row. At the end, glue three circle punches.
6. Flip the body over and glue a second set of circles over the first row.
7. For the eyes. Glue two 2” lime green circles on the 3” circle to make the eyes. Glue a black circle punch in the center of each eye.
8. Attach the head by gluing it to the folds.
9. To make the wings twist a small piece of wire around the center of the piece of twist. Round off the ends of the twist with scissors. Punch a hole behind the largest body section and insert the wire around the ribbon through this hole to attach the wings to the body. Inset a length of string through this hole to hang the dragonfly.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Delano, Marte Ferguson. National Geographic Kids/Butterflies. Washington DC: National Geographic for Kids.

Greensburg, David T. Bugs! NY: Little, Brown and Company. 1997.

Jackson, Demi.  Guess That Animal! Name That Bug! NY: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2017.

McKissack, Patricia and Frederick. Bugs! Chicago: Children’s Press, 1988.

Parker, Nancy Winslow and Wright, Joan Richards. Bugs. NY: Greenwillow, 1987.

Simon, Seymour. Butterflies. NY: Collins, 2011.

Singer, Marilyn. Caterpillars. Waynesville, MC: Early Light Books, Inc., 2011.

Taylor, Barbara, ed. 1000 Facts on Bugs. NY: Miles Kelly Publishing, 2005.