Insects

1987: Bee-keeping (Design - Mihai Vamasescu)

In the short cold days of early winter lets imagine the warmth of summer's day and the buzz of bees in a field of sunflowers.

1994: Definitives - Flora and Fauna (Design - Wendy Bramall)

or a bumble bee among the broom flowers with a couple of Clouded Yellow butterflies floating nearby attracted by red clover on the island of Alderney.

Stay by a still pond and watch a hyperactive Blue-tailed damselfly zooming around among water crowfoot and branched bur-reed.  The low values of these stamps sold out by 2001, the higher values would last until 2006.  The full set can be seen here

1971: Butterflies and Moths (Design - P Lambert)

 Head to west Africa to even warmer climes and find (1f )- the African Emperor Moth, Gonimbrascia hecate.  I don't know if it is day or night flying but would guess from being called Hecate it must be night. Coincidentally November 16th was Hecate's Night when she roams the earth with her hounds. A portion of bee's honey and mushrooms (Hecate's Supper) left on the step outside a home means she will bless the inhabitants. The next (2f) is a butterfly, Hamanumida Daedalus also called the guineafowl butterfly because of its colour and patterning.

1962: Postage Due Stamps - Beetles (Design - R Seles; Engraver - G Betemps)

I love catching sight of a glossy black beetle shining in the undergrowth but might get very excited if I saw something as patterned as this although unlikely as Sternotomis Virescens lives in Africa and feeds on the coffee plant.

If you prefer spots to stripes then here is another Longhorn beetle, Sternotomis Gama.  Lastly two beetles for the price of one franc, another Longhorn - Phosphorus virescens which apart from its sulphur-yellow pigment has yellow-green fluorescence, the perfect beetle for a stamp.  It is considered a pest because it bores into the stems of the cola plants.  Our striped friend is a flat-faced Longhorn beetle, Ceroplesis carabarica, its preference is coffee plants.

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Insects - for more fly over to -  See It On A Postcard