From the U.S. Postal Service announcement on November 17, 2020:
From the USPS: The Colorado hairstreak graces the eighth nonmachinable butterfly stamp for use on irregularly sized envelopes, such as square greeting cards, invitations or announcements. The stamp art is a highly stylized, simplified image of a Colorado hairstreak (Hypaurotis crysalus). Artist Tom Engeman created the stamp art. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp.
Here is a Dragon Card first day cover showing the previous 7 stamps in this series:
Additional information will be posted below the line, with the most recent at the top.
Updated August 31st:
After the August 29th rate increase, this stamp only covers the non-machineable rate and has a price of 88¢.
Updated April 6th:
The Scott catalogue number for this issue is 5568.
Updated March 3rd:
The only first-day postmark for this issue is the FIRST DAY OF ISSUE “killer bar.”
Updated March 2nd:
[from USPS — Ceremony Details] [click pictures for bigger version]
Colorado’s Hairstreak Butterfly Featured on New Stamp for Irregularly Shaped Cards
WHAT: The shimmering purple of the Colorado hairstreak butterfly will be commemorated by the U.S. Postal Service as the eighth stamp in the non-machineable butterfly stamp series.
The virtual dedication event for the Colorado Hairstreak stamp is free and open to the public. News of the stamp is being shared with the hashtag#ColoradoHairstreakstamps.
WHO: William D. Zollars, Board of Governors, U.S. Postal Service
Dr. Paul A. Opler, Professor, Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University
WHEN: Tuesday, March 9, 2021, at 11:30 a.m. EST
WHERE: The virtual stamp event will be hosted on the U.S. Postal Service Facebook and Twitter pages.
RSVP: Please visit usps.com/cohairstreakbutterfly for details of the virtual stamp dedication ceremony.
BACKGROUND: Colorado’s state insect, the vibrant Colorado hairstreak, lives among oak trees in that state and the rest of the Four Corners states — Arizona, New Mexico and Utah — as well as eastern Nevada, southern Wyoming and northern Mexico.
Colorado hairstreak caterpillars hatch in the spring from eggs laid the previous autumn. Plump and green with white fuzz, they feed on the tender new leaves of their host plant, the Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii), also known as the “scrub oak.”
After metamorphosis, the butterfly emerges from its cocoon in late spring or summer. The butterflies dart in and out of the tree’s branches, feeding on the tree’s sap and fallen raindrops. Mature males look for females receptive to mating. Later, the female lays her eggs singly on the host plant and the cycle of life begins anew not far from their ancestral home. In its entire life, the Colorado hairstreak may travel no more than a few yards from where it hatched.
These colorful square non-machineable surcharge stamps were developed in collaboration with the greeting card industry and will be issued in panes of 20 for use on irregular-size envelopes, such as square greeting cards, invitations or announcements. The words “NON-MACHINEABLE SURCHARGE” on the stamp indicate its usage value. The stamp is being issued at the current rate of 75 cents and, like a Forever stamp, this stamp will always be valid for the class of mail printed on it.
Updated February 1st:
Formats corrected in earlier entry. There will be just the one, a pane of 20.
Updated January 29th from the Postal Bulletin:
On March 9, 2021, in Estes Park, CO, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Colorado Hairstreak stamp (Non-denominated priced at the Non-machineable Surcharge 
rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 121200). This stamp will go on sale nationwide March 9, 2021, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.
The Colorado hairstreak graces the eighth non-machineable butterfly stamp for use on irregularly-sized envelopes, such as square greeting cards, invitations, or announcements. The stamp art was created digitally using images of preserved butterflies as a starting point. The result is a highly-stylized, simplified image of a Colorado hairstreak (Hypaurotis crysalus) rather than an exact replica. The Colorado hairstreak, that state’s official insect, is not attracted to flowers. The small, shimmering, purple butterfly perches in oak trees in the Southwest, sipping sap and raindrops. Tom Engeman created the stamp art. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp.
No automatic distribution.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
FDOI – Colorado Hairstreak Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service™ will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by July 9, 2021.
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Colorado Hairstreak Stamp
Item Number: 121200
Denomination & Type of Issue: Non-machineable Surcharge
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: March 9, 2021, Estes Park, CO 80517
Art Director: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Designer: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Artist: Tom Engeman, Kensington, MD
Modeler: Sandra Lane/Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 75,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Black, Pantone 1795, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Stamp Orientation: Square
Image Area (w x h): 1.085 x 1.085 in./27.559 x 27.559 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.225 x 1.225 in./31.115 x 31.115 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 5.9 x 7.12 in./149.86 x 180.848 mm
Plate Size: 240 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “B” followed by five (5) single digits in four corners
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: Colorado Hairstreak • Plate number in four corners
Back: ©2020 USPS • USPS logo • 2 barcodes (121200) • Plate position diagram (6) • Promotional text
Updated January 25th:
This stamp will be issued on Tuesday, March 9th, with a first-day city of Estes Park, CO. That’s about 50 miles northwest of Denver, and the location of the headquarters for the Rocky Mountain National Park.
According to the Park’s website, it is home to 141 species of butterflies, and not just the Colorado Hairstreak, but at least eight Hairstreak varieties! They’re all part of the Gossamer Wing family, or Lycaenidae.
A Rate-Change for this stamp, so maybe on 24 JAN ’21
CONTACT THE PARK
Mailing Address:
Rocky Mountain National Park
1000 US Hwy 36
Estes Park, CO 80517
Phone:
(970) 586-1206
Through winter, the Information Office is open 8:00 am–4:30 pm Mon–Fri. Recorded Trail Ridge Road status: (970) 586-1222.
I live near Boulder, CO – do you think it is feasible to purchase the stamp at my local post office on March 9th and to then drive to a post office in Estes Park for hand back postmark service?
Can someone assume all new postage issues will be available at all post offices on their first day of issue? Seems optimistic to me but I hope it is possible.
Yes, it’s feasible (depending on the weather, of course!). No, you can’t assume that all new issues are available at all post offices, even when there is supposed to be an automatic distribution to all post offices. My own post office is a substation of one in the neighboring town, and new issues are often “short-stopped.” My PO never got Arnold Palmer, for example: Hillsdale sold them all to its own customers.
This stamp is NOT likely to be an automatic distribution. You can call Estes Park the day before to make sure it will have the new issue (logic says that it would, but…) or you can purchase the stamps at a collector-friendly post office in Boulder and take them to Estes Park.
You should also call Estes Park in advance to make sure it will provide handback cancellations. The rules say that it should, but again, who knows? The applicable rules can be found at http://www.virtualstampclub.com/pom.html and, even if you get assurance over the telephone, you should bring a copy with you in case you find a different clerk on duty.
https://store.usps.com/store/product/stamp-collectors/colorado-hairstreak-first-day-cover-S_121216
Save the hassle of digging up a Post Office that will have these For Sale on the First Day of Issue, and then driving to a P.O. that May or May Not have a FDoI Postmarking device. For @ $1.19 + S/H you can get these sent to you, and you’ll probably have a year to buy them.
You miss the point, Lefty: If you are able to obtain the stamps and a decent postmark, you have a unique “Unofficial Location” first day cover, such as the one shown below for August Wilson. I doubt more than (my) 10 of them exist. And the USPS-supplied FDCs have the postmarks in the middle of the envelope, taking up ‘way too much room.
I understand the point. I’ve driven hundreds to thousands of miles in various travels, some of which presented the opportunity to get a ‘Real’ FDoI cancel. Under present conditions, and in the winter up in the mountains of Colorado, whether making such a trip would be worth the effort is questionable. I presented a way to get a FDoI for this stamp, and not get lost in a Blizzard in the Mountains. Do You want to PAY for the cost of a rescue? Search and Rescue via Helicopter is Expensive !!!
Where did the information about a second format come from? The 1/28/2021 Postal Bulletin only indicates one format; 20-stamp pane.
I don’t know. I thought I saw it, but now can’t find the source. I will change it.
No problem; I just didn’t want to miss it!
https://store.usps.com/store/product/buy-stamps/california-dogface-75-cents-S_120104
The Previous Butterfly stamp only came out in a pane-20, and is still available.
Stamp Announcement 21-9: Colorado Hairstreak Stamp
©2020 USPS
“Stamp Fulfillment Services will not make an automatic
push distribution to Post Offices. Post Offices may begin
ordering stamps before the first-day-of-issue through SFS
Web at sfsweb.usps.gov.”
This is listed in the postal bulletin, if you want delivered to your local PO try asking the manager or postal person that does the ordering!
Lloyd,
The grid page has a typo for this stamp: “(Butterly)”. Synonym of “oleaginous”?
Thanks. I’m about to update the grid with the Espresso and “Butterly” postmarks anyway.
I just called the Estes Park Post Office and the gentleman there told me they have these stamp in hand AND will be offering first day cancellation servicing. I am so excited, This will be my first time trying to do this. I better come up with a clever custom cover quick!
I was able to make it to the main PO in Estes Park on March 9 and acquire a FDC as well as make a few of my own. I documented my experience with a few photos and in a new episode for my podcast called Dissecting Philately. Please visit my website to locate this information and thank you Lloyd for your help! http://linktr.ee/DissectingPhilately