Community Magazine August 2019

EFRAIM HARARI The Jewish World of Wonders Productions can be contacted at: JWorldofWonders@hotmail.com PELEH THE BOY WONDER IS PRESENTED BY: IF YOU HAVE a QUESTION for PELEH the BOY WONDER, send it to: Ask@Communitym.com The ant is praised for its industrious nature. In Mishlei (6:6-8), Shlomo Hamelech, the wisest of all men, declares: Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways, and become wise, for she has no commander, overseer, or ruler, yet she prepares her bread in the summer; she gathers her food in the harvest. The lazy fellow, the sluggard, would do well to observe the busy ants: how energetically they do their work, not wasting a single moment, and without anyone having to prod them. Ants are self-reliant and finish the task they assign to themselves, without supervision. TORAH TIDBIT Learning from the Ant Insects do have blood, but it is very different from human blood. Insect’s blood, referred to as hemolymph , contains various nutrients and hormones. Unlike human blood, it is not red in color; it is clear. Sometimes, though, insect blood does appear to have a yellow or green color to it – this comes from the pigment of the plants that the insect has eaten. Our blood is red because it has hemoglobin, which is used to carry oxygen to where it is needed in the body. Insects do not have any red blood cells or hemoglobin. They breathe through their skin and get oxygen from a complex system of air tubes that connect to the outside air through their spiracles. So instead of carrying oxygen, their blood carries nutrients from one part of the body to another. Insects do bleed when they get hurt, but their blood can clot, so a minor wound will usually heal. Do insects have blood? A Real Head-Turner The praying mantis is the only insect that can turn its head. AV - ELUL 5779 AUGUST 2019 95