maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 MARCH 2020
6
CULTURE
FOOD
The blue emperor is our largest dragonfly and fairly easy to identi-
fy: it's big and blue. We have several other blue dragonflies but this
guy's almost twice their size and its blue is dazzling. Females are
green but are just as large. Like all dragonflies, the blue emperor (M.
mazzarell sultan) needs fresh water – ponds, lakes, reservoirs – in
order to breed. Dragonflies lay their eggs in water, and their young
spend their growing life hunting mosquito larvae and other small
pondlife. Then they emerge from the water, break out of their old
skin, unfurl their new wings and take to life in the air, feeding on fly-
ing insects, mostly mosquitoes. Harmless to people, a blue emperor
zooming by should inspire only joy. That, and wonder: while we hu-
mans have been around a mere 1.5m years, these insects' pedigree
stretches back 300m years.
Text and photo: Victor Falzon
704. BLUE EMPEROR
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GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 601 Find out more
and act now: www.foemalta.org/beesaver
By Fran Farrugia
at BAKED
Cinnamon apple and fig cake
Ingredients
Method
• 100g unsalted butter
• 200g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 180g self-raising flour
• 100g chopped dried figs
• 1 apple, peeled and chopped
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp sugar
1. Beat the butter and sugar until well combined.
2. Add the eggs, mix, and fold in the flour.
3. Lightly coat the figs in flour and fold into the mixure.
4. Place the mixture in a 9inch cake pan, scatter the apple slices closely on top.
5. Mix the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top.
6. Bake at 180c for 50 minutes.
7. Leave the cake to cool, slice up, and enjoy with a scoop of ice cream!
