Dragonfly acrobats

I recently "discovered" an age-old toy of Asian (probably Chinese) origin. Sticks of bamboo or banana wood are shaped into the body and wings of a dragonfly and arranged so that the whole "statue" balances gently on the tip of its nose.
Intriguing! I set to develop (that is "copy", in layman's terms :) a version of my own. Initially, i used poplar stirring sticks (contributed by the local coffee-shop). Later on, i noticed a kind of palm tree, quite common as a decorative plant in my neiborhood.
Near the base of the trunk, branches carry a paricular version of leaves: they are nicely needle-shaped and, once dried, quite solid. I file or sand-paper five of those to a rounded edge. Four are cut to equal size, to serve as the dragonfly's wings. The longer and stronger one is left to original length: this is the dragonfly's body.
I cut a hole through the body (using a pointed file or a milling hand-tool, as in the picture), some 2 cm from the tip of te "head". The opening has to be large enough for the pointed ends of all four "wings" (two on each side) to fit - approx. 6 mm in diameter will do, in this case.
Once assembled, a drop of epoxy glue bonds them solidly together.
After a number of tries, i decided to make a rig out of corrugated cardboard, to keep the pieces aligned while the glue cures. Epoxy takes on well to wood and provides an adequately strong joint. The quick-setting variety bonds in less than 10 min. (which still leaves ample time to enjoy a glass of milk :)
The rig boosted production pace, so i ended up with a swarm of wooden insects. They were decorated with gouache paint and finished with two generous coats of nail varnish.
To achieve balancing - in some cases, when an adjustment of the weight was necessary - i glue clippings of copper wire under the tips of the wings. Also, i decorate the head with 'eyes' made from glass beads glued on the ends of a 1.5 mm dia. piece of scraped-out bamboo stick.
They can perch on practically anything and are quite keen trapezists: the gentlest breeze has them floating gracefully, on and on...