DRAGONFLY WING

I found this Dragonfly wing on a little walk along by the Caversham Lock today. I'm not sure which species it belongs to, but it is an anterior wing of a Dragonfly in case you were at all interested. Apologies for the slightly battered, dirty appearance of the wing, although I do think it still looks amazingly intricate with its veins and membranes intact.

Wonderful things, Dragonfly wings.

Four of them, capable of giving the adult Dragonfly incredible manoeuvrability and speed - between 20 and 38mph if scientific experiments are to be believed. That (as my Uncle has said, and I quote), is virtually supersonic considering their size.

Dragonflies can travel vast distances in a day also - up to 85 miles in some cases, and DO eat mozzies (unlike the Crane-Fly posted on below) together with all manner of other flying insects.