Wildflowers (Canada 2024)

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Annual flower stamp issue showcases environmentally important wildflowers
Spotted beebalm and butterfly milkweed provide food and shelter for pollinators, as well as beautiful blooms for gardens and bouquetsIssue date: 1 March 2024OTTAWA – Canada Post’s latest stamp issue features two native wildflowers that are important sources of food for a variety of pollinators, including hummingbirds, butterflies and bees.

The brilliant blossoms of butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) and spotted beebalm (Monarda punctata) become heavy with nectar and pollen, attracting hungry insects and birds. Those pollinators play a crucial role in fertilizing plants, including fruit trees and other agricultural crops.

Both plants are perennial herbs that can grow up to a metre tall. The glossy leaves of butterfly milkweed, and the leaves of other milkweeds, are the sole source of food for monarch butterfly caterpillars. These striking pollinators are affected by deforestation, climate change and the loss of native plants along their migratory corridors.

A fragrant member of the mint family, spotted beebalm is known for its unique and intricate whorls of purple-spotted, tubular flowers that alternate with rings of white-to-purple leaf bracts along its upper stem.

In Canada, spotted beebalm and butterfly milkweed are native only to certain regions of
southern Ontario and southwestern Quebec. In Quebec, these wildflowers are designated as threatened and protected by law.

About the stamps
Designed by Andrew Perro, the two stamps feature original illustrations by Alain Massicotte of wildflowers in bloom. The stamps are available in booklets of 10, coils of 50, collectible coil strips of 4 and 10 stamps, as well as in a souvenir sheet of 2 stamps.The stamps were cancelled in Essex, Ont., a region with an abundance of native milkweed and which is an important breeding ground for monarch butterflies before their annual migration to Mexico.

Stamps and collectibles are available at canadapost.ca and postal outlets across Canada.

[en Francais pour les médias d’information]
L’émission annuelle de timbres floraux illustre des fleurs sauvages importantes pour l’environnement
La monarde ponctuée et l’asclépiade tubéreuse procurent nourriture et refuge aux pollinisateurs, en plus d’être magnifiques dans les jardins et les bouquets.
Jour d’emission: 1 March 2024OTTAWA, ON, le 1er mars 2024 /CNW/ – La nouvelle émission de timbres de Postes Canada présente deux fleurs sauvages indigènes qui sont d’importantes sources de nourriture pour une variété de pollinisateurs, y compris les colibris, les papillons et les abeilles.

Abondantes en nectar et en pollen, les fleurs éclatantes de l’asclépiade tubéreuse (Asclepias tuberosa) et de la monarde ponctuée (Monarda punctata) attirent les insectes et les oiseaux pollinisateurs en quête de nourriture. Ceux-ci jouent un rôle essentiel dans la fertilisation des plantes, y compris les arbres fruitiers et d’autres cultures agricoles.

Ces deux herbes vivaces peuvent atteindre jusqu’à un mètre de hauteur. Les feuilles lustrées de l’asclépiade tubéreuse, et celles des autres variétés d’asclépiades, sont l’unique nourriture des chenilles de papillons monarques. Ce pollinisateur remarquable est touché par la déforestation, les changements climatiques et la perte de plantes indigènes le long de ses corridors migratoires.

Membre parfumé de la famille de la menthe, la monarde ponctuée se distingue par son apparence unique et complexe. Sur sa tige supérieure alternent des verticilles de fleurs tubulaires tachetées de pourpre et des anneaux de feuilles allant du blanc au violet.

Au Canada, la monarde ponctuée et l’asclépiade tubéreuse sont indigènes seulement de certaines régions du sud de l’Ontario et du sud-ouest du Québec. Au Québec, elles sont désignées comme menacées et protégées par la loi.

À propos des timbres
Conçus par Andrew Perro, les deux timbres présentent des illustrations originales d’Alain Massicotte représentant des fleurs sauvages en pleine floraison. Les timbres sont offerts en carnets de 10, en rouleaux de 50, en bandes de collection de 4 et 10 vignettes provenant de rouleaux et en bloc-feuillet de deux timbres.Les timbres ont été oblitérés à Essex, en Ontario, une région riche en asclépiades indigènes qui est un important lieu de reproduction pour les monarques avant leur migration annuelle vers le Mexique.

Les timbres et autres articles de collection sont en vente à postescanada.ca et dans les comptoirs postaux partout au pays.

Zais to Steer AFDCS Publications

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]

Mitchell “Mick” Zais, a former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education, is now the chair of the Publications subcommittee of the American First Day Cover Society. Publications is a part of the Education Department of the AFDCS, which is chaired by Michael Lake.

Zais was also briefly Acting Secretary of Education in 2021 and has served as South Carolina Superintendent of Education and president of Newbury College. Before that, the West Point graduate had reached the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Army.

He has often told the story of how he was able to skip a required geography course at the U.S. Military Academy because of the knowledge he had gained from stamp collecting. Today, he specializes in the first day covers of the Army stamps of the Army-Navy Series of 1936-37 (Sc. 785-789).

Mick was elected to the AFDCS Board of Directors, beginning in January 2023. He served as president of the American Philatelic Society from 2016 to 2018, resigning to avoid a conflict of interest with his federal appointment.

“I look forward to working with our team at AFDCS to bring useful and important publications to our members,” said Zais. “Most exciting is the recent permission acquired by the Society to re-print the Mellone first day cover catalogs.”

The AFDCS has published books, handbooks, and catalogues on everything from the basics of FDC collecting to making cachets, from FDCs of the 1909 commemorative issues to those of the 1988 Cats issue. A complete list can be found on its website in the Marketplace section. The Education Department of the AFDCS also has a YouTube Channel and produces videos on various facets of FDC collecting.

The AFDCS, a not-for-profit educational organization, sponsors the annual Philip H. Ward, Jr., Memorial Award for Excellence in First Day Cover Literature, exhibit awards, and is a co-sponsor of the Great American Stamp Show, which includes the Americover first day cover exhibition and announcement of the results of its annual cachetmaking contest. Its journal, First Days, is a perennial gold-medal winner in philatelic literature competitions.

For more information about the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org, e-mail afdcs@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at Post Office Box 27, Greer, SC 29652-0027.

Philatelic Exhibiting: Building A Passion (Hotchner)

Philatelic Exhibiting: Building a Passion
for Knowledge, Acquisition, and Creativity
by John M. Hotchner

I’m a philatelic exhibitor, and the discipline has taught me a great deal about stamp collecting, but even more about myself. Exhibiting is the creation of philatelic stories highlighting mostly stamps and covers, but sometimes also associated material like photos or news articles. The object is to arrange the material in a pleasing way that encourages viewers to stop at your frames and enjoy (and learn from) your work.

National level exhibiting, and much local and regional exhibiting too, takes place as a competition for medal levels and special awards offered by each show and by national level societies, but the medal level part is not competition against other exhibits. Rather, each exhibit is judged against two standards:

  • How difficult a task have you set for yourself, and
  • Whether your exhibit is the best it can be, in terms of the material used, the logic of the story, and the knowledge presented.

As can well be imagined, putting hours and hours into creating an exhibit often converts the effort from a mere philatelic project into something akin to what you feel for one of your children. And as you might react badly to having one of your children criticized — especially unfairly — it is just so with what judges will have to say about your exhibit. It took a long time for me to understand and internalize that it was the exhibit being critiqued, and not myself.

It took even longer to understand that judges were commenting about four different action areas:

  • Problems that are holding an exhibit back from getting to the next level and must be addressed; things like missing philatelic material, difficulty in the flow of the story being told, or incorrect or poorly stated information.
  • Suggestions, or ideas for experimenting, that deserve to be considered toward overcoming those problems.
  • Areas where the exhibitor might use his or her own knowledge and creativity to come up with better ways to make points that advance the story or the clarity of the story.
  • Areas where the judge has personal preferences — often in the realm of exhibit presentation.

There is a tendency to give equal weight to everything a judge says, but exhibitors need to learn to differentiate the “musts” from the “maybes,” and to identify ideas worth pursuing — and what should go into File 13. Judges are human and can make mistakes. They can miss seeing something that is present, misunderstand points being made, or bring their own biases to the table. But exhibitors are also human. Thus, miscommunication is almost inevitable. But exhibitors need to understand that judges are also exhibitors (successful ones!) who have real knowledge to impart, and do what they do to try to be a resource and be helpful.

Early on in my exhibiting career I was certain that my failure to get to Gold was not my fault, but the fault of the judges, who in my view didn’t understand what I was trying to do, didn’t know as much as I did about my exhibit subject, and were too full of themselves to be objective.

In one especially humiliating instance, the legendary collector and judge Bud Hennig (shown on the left) critiqued my first exhibit (on methods of stamp separation) after the jury he was on dropped it to a Silver medal, after it had gotten several Vermeils (the level under Gold). My feelings were hurt, and my back was up, and his critique, which was extensive, had me thinking “Unfair … I’m not putting up with this. I’m leaving this field, and not coming back.”

I put the exhibit on the shelf, and there it sat for about three months. When I did look at it again, I had to admit that Hennig had made quite a few good points, and the old enthusiasm came back to motivate me to work on it some more. In fact, Hennig’s critique, harsh but honest, turned out to be the door I had to walk through to get the exhibit to Gold. And that took some growth on my part.

So here it is nearly 40 years and about 15 exhibits later, and exhibiting is the most fun thing I do in the hobby. It forces me to organize my material, to learn about it in detail, to present it logically, and to exercise my meager artistic skills as I prepare exhibit pages.

My most recent efforts are in the fields of Korean War POW Mail, and Bureau of Engraving and Printing Repairs and Rejection Markings. Challenge is what it’s all about — taking a subject that no one else has done before, and creating a base from which others can launch a new interest. For me it is now much more about the story than the medal. Sure, I enjoy getting a nice medal to add to my collection, but the medal is no longer the reason I exhibit.

For those of you who might like to give exhibiting a try, I would recommend going to the website of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors, You will find much information about our corner of the hobby, but also a pamphlet titled “How to Get Started in Philatelic Exhibiting.”


Should you wish to comment on this column, or have questions or ideas you would like to have explored in a future column, please write to John Hotchner, VSC Contributor, P.O. Box 1125, Falls Church, VA 22041-0125, or email, putting “VSC” in the subject line.

Or comment right here.

Typically Dutch — Dogs (Netherlands 2024)

[from PostNL press materials] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Typically Dutch — Dogs

Date of issue: 12 February 2024
Appearance: sheet of six stamps in six identical designs
Item number: 440262
Design: Adam Lane, Edwin van Praet and Huub van Veenhuijzen from Total Design, Amsterdam

This issue is the second in the Typically Dutch series this year. The multi-year series was launched in 2020, and in 2024 focuses on the Netherlands’ most popular and familiar animals.

The six identical postage stamps will be marked ‘Nederland 1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20g destined for the Netherlands. A sheet of six stamps costs €6.54.

Typically Dutch – Dogs was designed by Senior Graphic Designer Adam Lane, Executive Creative Director Edwin van Praet and Concept Director Huub van Veenhuijzen from Total Design in Amsterdam. The design was created using artificial intelligence and features figurines in the shape of Delftware pottery.

The first 2024 issue in the Typically Dutch series is about cows and was published on 2 January. Stamp sheets featuring horses (25 March), songbirds (13 May) and cats (12 August) will follow later this year.

Dogs: The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a mammal that belongs to the canine family and a domesticated subspecies of the wolf. For many years now, man has used the dog as a guard dogs, companions, shepherd dogs, draught animals, police dogs, assistance dogs and hunting dogs. The Dutch love dogs. The precise number of dogs in the Netherlands is unknown, but estimates suggest around 1.9 million, which works out at one per four households on average.

Roughly one quarter of all dogs in the Netherlands are purebred. Their interests are safeguarded by the Dutch Kennel Club, which keeps the pedigree records. A small number of purebred dogs are typically Dutch, such as the Drentsche Patrijshond, the Stabyhoun, the Dutch Shepherd, the Kooikerhondje, the Markiesje, the Saarloos Wolfdog, the Schapendoes and the Frisian Water Dog.

Koninklijke Hondenbescherming (the Dutch Society for the Protection of Dogs) feels a responsibility towards all Dutch dogs. Since 2013, the society has championed the legal requirement to have all new dogs in the Netherlands chipped. Since 2021, breeders are also legally obliged to register their puppies and apply for an EU passport for them.

Delftware: The history of Delftware is closely linked to that of Chinese porcelain. Delft was one of the VOC’s trading posts, with warehouses where large stocks of this porcelain were stored. Delft potters developed a type of tin-glazed earthenware that could be compared to Chinese porcelain in terms of shape, shine and decoration. Delftware became very popular within a short space of time and experienced its heyday between 1650 and 1750, when there were around 100 pottery factories. Today, only a few factories are still producing Delftware in the traditional way. The traditional paintwork can be identified by the mark on the underside of each product.

Artificial intelligence: AI relates to learning computing systems that are capable of extrapolating large amounts of data and algorithms, making decisions and choices, and coming up with interpretations. The developments in artificial intelligence are coming thick and fast. It is used in numerous applications, from face recognition on smartphones and self-driving cars to smart thermostats and deep fakes – digitally manipulated images, sounds and texts. Within AI there is a separate discipline called generative art, which is when a computer algorithm creates an original work of art or design.

Design: Each stamp on the Typically Dutch – dogs stamp sheet features two dogs sitting next to each other on their hind legs. The portrait takes the form of a figurine made from shiny Delftware pottery. The image of the two dogs was created using the AI programme Midjourney, which produces images based on textual descriptions.

Typically Dutch – Dogs was designed by Total Design, an Amsterdam-based design agency which has been responsible for the Typically Dutch series since 2020. For the 2024 series, PostNL asked Total Design to elaborate on the Delftware theme by combining photography and illustration. Delftware did, in fact, end up on the stamps, albeit with a contemporary twist.

The designers “wanted to see whether we could go further than using images of vases, plates and figurines,” said designer Adam Lane. “We were looking to create a modern twist, and that’s when we came up with the concept of working with artificial intelligence. Our AI expertise gave us some ideas, but we wanted to explore properly how it would work.”

Around 25 designers participated in a brainstorming session. “In small teams, we used the AI programme MidJourney to combine typically Dutch subjects with different decoration styles. Delftware proved to work the best, as other Dutch decorative styles were simply too unfamiliar within AI,” said Lane. “The results were magnificent – dreamlike, often surreal images of a wide variety of subjects. From ice skates, cheeses and board games such as goose game to Dutch interiors and garments… you name it. By the end of the evening, the portrait of a dog suddenly cropped up. We decided that was an interesting option and we wanted to go in that direction. Why not produce a series on the animals that are close to the hearts of the Dutch people?”

Both designers grew up with dogs, but now live in Amsterdam where they have too little space to look after a dog of their own. “I do miss it,” says Van Veenhuijzen. “We occasionally borrow a dog.”

Then came the decision of which dogs to feature on the stamp. “We didn’t want to feature a small dog, as that wouldn’t have fit in well with the other animals in the series. So that’s why we didn’t go for any Instagram dogs sitting in handbags,” says Van Veenhuijzen. “We selected large, sturdy dogs with lots of characteristics of the Rhodesian Ridgeback.

“We also explored using typically Dutch purebred dogs. However, they are less well known and so they weren’t recognised by Midjourney. We deliberately chose strong, muscular guard dogs. Originally, people presumably started keeping dogs so that they would guard their properties. They protect us, they give us a sense of security and they’re incredibly loyal. All of that is reflected in how the two dogs are presented on the stamps. They’re looking straight at us, as if to say they have protected everything that is precious to us.”

Technical Details:
Postage stamp dimensions: 30 x 40mm
Sheet size: 170 x 122mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Glue: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black
Print run: 75,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of six stamps in identical designs
Design: Adam Lane, Edwin van Praet and Huub van Veenhuijzen from Total Design, Amsterdam
Printing company: Cartor Security Printers, Meaucé-La Loupe, France
Item number: 440262

Note: PostNL does not sell directly to collectors in North America. Its website refers to a company called Nordfirm, which says it sells Dutch new issues at face value. The Virtual Stamp Club has no connection to this company.

Netherlands 2024 Stamp Program

Here are the stamps planned for the first half of this year; click on the links for the individual pages and illustrations

2 januari
Beleef de natuur-vogels Bonaire (Experience Nature: Bonaire Birds)
Typisch Nederlands-koeien (Typically Dutch: Cows)

12 februari
Beleef de natuur-vlinders Bonaire (Experience Nature: Bonaire Butterflies
Typisch Nederlands-honden (Typically Dutch: Dogs)

1 maart (1 March)
Keukenhof 75 jaar (one of the world’s largest flower gardens)

25 maart (25 March)
Typisch Nederlands-paarden (Typically Dutch: Horses)

22 april
De vormentaal van de natuur (The Formal Language of Nature)

13 mei (13 May)
PostEurop Onderwaternatuur (Underwater Nature)
Typisch Nederlands-zangvogels (Typically Dutch: Songbirds)

10 juni (10 June)
Beleef de natuur-onderwaternatuur Bonaire (Experience Nature: Bonaire Underwater Nature)

Juni (June)
60 jaar André van Duin (Dutch Comedian; 60 years. Wikipedia)

Experience Nature: Bonaire Butterflies (Netherlands, 2024)

[from PostNL press material] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Experience Nature – Butterflies on Bonaire

Issue date: 12 February 2024
Appearance: sheet of ten stamps in ten different designs, with denomination ‘1’ for post weighing up to 20g with destinations in the Netherlands
Item number: 440261
Design: Frank Janse, Gouda
Photography: Alamy, Dreamstime, Shutterstock and Wikimedia Commons (Anne Toal, Charles J. Sharp, Gailhampshire, Renee from Las Vegas, Vinayaraj)

This is a sheet of ten stamps in ten different designs. The stamps carry bear denomination ‘1’ for post weighing up to 20g with destinations in the Netherlands, and a sheet of ten stamps costs €10.90 [currently about US$11.75]. It is part of the multi-year Experience Nature series dedicated to the Caribbean Netherlands from 2024 to 2026. As part of this series, four stamp sheets will be released every year, each containing ten different stamps. The stamps feature plants and animals found in this part of the Netherlands. With thousands of species of plants and animals, the islands in this area have a biodiversity unprecedented by Dutch standards. In 2024, the sheets in this series will focus on the birds, butterflies, underwater life and, lastly, flora found on the island of Bonaire.

Experience Nature – Butterflies on Bonaire features the

  • little yellow
  • hanno blue
  • mimic
  • monarch
  • fiery skipper
  • white peacock
  • cracker
  • disjunct scrub-hairstreak
  • great southern white and
  • gulf fritillary butterflies.

Like Sint Eustatius and Saba, the island of Bonaire has a special status within the Netherlands. The collective name for the three islands is the Caribbean Netherlands. Along with the countries of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, they form the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Bonaire comprises almost 29,000 hectares of land [about 112,000 square miles]. Bonaire is home to around 24,000 people, most of whom speak Papiamentu as their first language. The main sources of income are tourism and salt extraction, and the island is a popular destination for diving holidays and cruise ships. Much of the island has been designated as nature parks.

Of all the butterfly species in the world, around 265 are found on the Caribbean Netherlands, a significant proportion of which can be found on Bonaire. Their size varies widely. For example, the hawkmoth has a wingspan measuring up to 15cm, while the smallest lycaedinae do not grow beyond 2cm. The wingspan also depends on the time of year and the butterfly’s growth habit as a caterpillar.

Many diurnal butterflies stand out for their variegated colours. The vast majority of butterflies are seen as useful, harmless animals because they are pollinators that are unable to sting and bite.

The Experience Nature – Butterflies on Bonaire stamp sheet was designed by Gouda-based graphic designer Frank Janse. All of the butterflies are featured in their natural habitat on their own stamp. In several places on the stamp sheet, the designer has added graphics from symbols on old topographical maps. These symbols indicate landscape forms, contour lines, plantings, soil structures and watercourses, for example.

The design also features an additional transparent layer with monochrome images (both white and in colour) of typical flora and fauna from this area. The monochrome images are rendered almost abstractly, running across the perforations and connecting the stamps with each other and the sheet edge. The following butterflies and plants are featured:

  • the fiery skipper (top left)
  • cracker (top right)
  • a flowering cordia alba and underneath it a peacock flower (centre)
  • the succulent krapéwiwiri plant (centre left)
  • passionflower butterfly (bottom left) and
  • the passion flower’s leaves and flower (bottom right).

Butterflies are a favourite stamp subject for many postal organisations across the world. Janse thinks that’s understandable. “Butterflies always do well on stamps,” he said. “Not just because they’re attractive and colourful – their shape also fits nicely into the stamp format, and especially when they’re photographed from above.”

The stamp designer feels that is the best “pose” for butterflies, because it shows the markings of the wings. “You should always feature butterflies in their entirety – zooming in on just one section doesn’t work,” said Janse. “That’s why I made sure that all the butterflies on the stamps were kept within the frames.”

Janse has designed the previous Experience Nature stamps (which started in 2018), as well as other issues. Last year, he also designed the Holland America Line’s 150th birthday, Girl with a Pearl Earring and 1948 Inauguration of Juliana personal stamps, which contained 24-carat gold.

The Bonaire Butterflies stamps are available while stocks last from all PostNL outlets, Bruna post offices and www.postnl.nl/bijzondere-postzegels. The stamps are also available for order by telephone from Collect Club’s Customer Service department on +31 (0)88 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.

Technical Data:
Stamp size: 40 x 30mm:
Sheet size: 122 x 170mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gumming: self adhesive
Printing technique: offset
Print colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black
Circulation: 285,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of 10 stamps in 10 different designs
Design: Frank Janse, Gouda
Photography: Alamy, Dreamstime, Shutterstock and Wikimedia Commons (Anne Toal, : Charles J. Sharp, Gailhampshire, Renee from Las Vegas, Vinayaraj)
Printing house: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number: 440261

The Ten Species on the Stamps:
The little yellow (Pyrisitia lisa) is a species of butterfly in the Pieridae family (whites). These native butterflies are known for their distinctive lemon-yellow colour, which makes them easy to spot. The little yellow has a wingspan of approximately 4 to 5cm and a distinctive black edge along the wings, which contrasts with their bright yellow colour. The caterpillars in this species are green with fine black dots. They usually feed on plants in the Brassicaceae family, such as mustard and cabbage.

The hanno blue (Hemiargus hanno) is a small butterfly species in the Lycaenidae family (small pages, fireflies and blues). Found in North and South America, this butterfly is known for its vibrant orange colour, which sets it apart from many other blues. The hanno blue lives in various habitats, including open fields, meadows and gardens, where they feed on nectar from various flowers such as butterfly bushes and clover species. These butterflies have a symbiotic relationship with ants. The ants protect the caterpillars in exchange for sweet secretions.

The mimic (Hypolimnas misippus) is a conspicuous butterfly species in the Nymphalidae family (cobblers, pearl moths and sand moths). Males have a striking appearance, with deep black wings and white spots and stripes reminiscent of a diadem or crown. Females, on the other hand, have a browner colour with a light edge on their wings. What is interesting about the mimic (hence the name) is the mimetic behaviour they exhibit. They mimic the appearance of poisonous butterflies, which makes them less appealing to predators.

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is one of the best-known butterfly species of North and South America. These butterflies in the Nymphalidae family (cobblers, pearl moths and sand moths) migrate northwards in large numbers in the spring, developing several generations. In the autumn, they return south, where the species overwinters in huge groups. The monarch butterfly is a fairly large butterfly: its total body length measures approximately 5cm and it has a wingspan of up to 10cm. The wings feature bold colours, and orange is the main colour. The wing surface is divided into cells by the black wing edge. The wing margin has a broad black edge with lots of small white spots.

The fiery skipper (Hylephila phyleus) is a species of butterfly in the Hesperiidae family (tadpoles). This butterfly is commonly found in North, Central and South America. It resides in numerous habitats, from open grasslands to gardens and verges. The fiery skipper has a wingspan of 2.5 to 3.5cm and gets its name from the vibrant orangey brown colour on its wings, which is reminiscent of flickering fire. The wings also feature distinctive black stripes and white spots. These butterflies prefer nectar-rich flowers and feed on a variety of plants. The fiery skipper has a fast, frisky flight style, as it appears to ‘skip’ from flower to flower, which is characteristic of many species in the Hesperiidae family.

The white peacock (Anartia jatrophae) is a remarkable species of butterfly in the Nymphalidae family (cobblers, pearl moths and sand moths). Native to parts of North and South America, this butterfly is known for its refined appearance and unique wing patterns. The butterfly gets its name from the white colour of the top of its wings, with prominent eye spots and blue and black accents. The undersides of the wings have a more camouflage-like appearance, with brown and grey tones, which help the butterfly to hide against natural backgrounds while resting. They are also known for their exuberant flight style and they can be spotted in large numbers during migration.

The cracker (Hamadryas feronia) is a species of butterfly in the Nymphalidae family (cobblers, pearl moths and sand moths). This butterfly is known for its striking appearance and intriguing behaviour. The extraordinary thing about the cracker is its wing pattern. The top of its wings is a deep brown colour, with white stripes that make it look like a zebra, hence the nickname ‘zebra nymph butterfly’. The undersides of their wings feature a distinctive, bright red colour and an eye-spot pattern. This serves to deter predators by distracting them and making them think they are being watched by a larger animal. These butterflies are also known to sunbathe on tree trunks and their tendency to flock in large groups.

The disjunct scrub-hairstreak (Strymon bubastus) is a small species of butterfly in the Lycaenidae family (small pages, fireflies and blues). This butterfly can be found in open habitats such as grasslands, meadows, verges and flower fields. Its boldest feature is the two long tails that protrude from the hind wings. The top of the male’s wings is usually a bluish purple colour, while that of the female is browner with orange spots and an orange edge. This fast, active butterfly gathers nectar from a variety of flowers, including clovers and lupins. They play an important role in the pollination of these plants.

The great southern white (Ascia monuste) is a remarkable butterfly species in the Pieridae family (whites). Native to parts of North and South America, these butterflies get their name from their distinctive white colour. The great southern white is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan measuring approximately 5 to 7cm. The male and female have similar external characteristics, with bright white wings and several black markings along the edges. This makes them stand out from other butterflies within their habitat.

The gulf fritillary (Agraulus vanillae) is a remarkable butterfly species in the Nymphalidae family (cobblers, pearl moths and sand moths). The tops of the wings have a bright orange colour with black spots and stripes, while the undersides have a silvery sheen with prominent pearly spots. These striking colours serve as a deterrent (aposematism), that warn predators of their unpalatability. This butterfly’s caterpillars feed exclusively on passion flowers. The flowers contain toxins, but the caterpillars have adapted so that they tolerate those toxins.

Sources: National Geographic, Naturalis Dutch Caribbean Species Register via PostNL.

There are two first day covers for this issue, each with 5 stamps:

Note: PostNL does not sell directly to collectors in North America. Its website refers to a company called Nordfirm, which says it sells Dutch new issues at face value. The Virtual Stamp Club has no connection to this company.

Calle To Design Great American Stamp Show Cachets

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Calle To Design Great American Stamp Show Cachets
Popular Artist Will Be at AFDCS Booth To Sign Covers, Meet Collectors

Professional artist Chris Calle again will design the official show cachets for Great American Stamp Show 2024. He also will be at the American First Day Cover Society booth during the show to autograph covers and stamps with his designs and chat with collectors. He is shown on the right at last year’s GASS.

During his 20+ years as an illustrator his artwork focused on historical subjects and the theme of Space Exploration produced in paint and pencil for publications, advertising, coins and FDCs. Chris has designed more than 35 postage stamps for the United States and hundreds more for countries as diverse as Sweden and the Marshall Islands, as well as designs for the United Nations. Chris’s US postage stamp design work includes the two stamps celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the first Moon Landing jointly designed with his father Paul Calle who designed the iconic #C76 First Man on the Moon stamp in 1969. Perhaps Chris’s most well-known solo artwork is the $2.40 Priority Mail stamp design of 1989 (Sc. 2419, shown here), which depicts Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planting the American flag on the Moon.

For more than a decade Chris has designed the show cachets for the major U.S. summer stamp collecting shows as well as many regional stamp shows throughout the country.
Among other stamp and cover design awards, Chris’ first day cover cachets have won the top prize in the annual AFDCS contest several times and he has now passed the torch of cachetmaking to his children Arianna and Ian. Since they were five years old, Arianna and Ian’s entires in the youth category have both won many awards in the AFDCS contest. In fact, two years ago Arianna took first place in an adult category (right). She is now a sophomore in college!

His first U.S. stamp design, for the Harry S. Truman definitive, is shown here.

Today in his fine art career Calle’s oil paintings and pencil drawings focus on the history and future of manned space exploration.

As an official NASA artist, Chris covered two of the early Space Shuttle missions, producing artwork that is now in the collections of the National Air and Space Museum and NASA. His artwork is in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian museums, other space and science Museums throughout the United States, and corporate and private collections worldwide.

Chris is the author of Celebrating Apollo 11, the Artwork of Paul Calle, which details the elder Calle’s involvement in the NASA Fine Art Program and focuses on the on-the-spot artwork Paul created as the only artist present during the breakfast and suiting up of the Apollo 11 crew on the morning of their historic launch to the Moon.

Chris portrayed his father Paul in the 2018 movie “First Man,” the story of Neil Armstrong. Chris sketched Ryan Gosling and the cast during the breakfast and crew walkout, using the same sketchbook and pens Paul used in 1969.

The AFDCS is a co-sponsor of the Great American Stamp Show, which includes the Americover first day cover exhibition and announcement of the results of its annual cachetmaking contest. GASS this year is being held in Hartford, Conn., August 15-18, 2024. Admission is free.

For more information about the AFDCS, visit www.afdcs.org, e-mail afdcs@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at Post Office Box 27, Greer, SC 29652-0027.