2009 Endangered Species - Butterflies

This lovely cover with the three pretty stamps were issued by the UN in the 2009 Endangered Species Series. This issue is about butterflies. This cover and stamps were issued on 16.4.2009. This cover is a Limited Edition FDC of the UN Postal Administrstion. A point to note here is that each of the three stamps has been cancelled by a distinctive postmark of the three cities from which UN stamps are issued, namely, New York (in English), Vienna (in German) and Geneva (in French). A brief description of the butterflies depicted is given below.

The Emperor Dragonfly or Blue Emperor, Anax imperator, is a large species of hawker dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae, averaging 78 millimetres (3.1 in) in length. It is found mainly in Europe  and nearby Africa and Asia. 

Males have a sky blue abdomen marked with a diagnostic black dorsal stripe and an apple green thorax. Females have a green thorax and abdomen. The male is highly territorial, and difficult to approach. The species lives by larger ponds, gravel pits, and slow rivers.

The dragonfly is in Europe. They frequently fly high up into the sky in search of prey, which includes butterflies, Four-spotted Chasers and tadpoles; small prey is eaten while flying. The females lay the eggs into plants such as pondweed, and always lay alone.

Rajah Brooke's Birdwing (Trogonoptera brookiana) is a distinctive black and electric-green birdwing butterfly from the rainforests in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Natuna, Sumatra, and various small islands west of Sumatra (Banyak, Simeulue, Batu and Mentawai). The butterfly was named by the naturalist Alfred R. Wallace in 1855, after James Brooke, the Rajah of Sarawak. Its wingspan is 15–17 cm (5.9–6.7 in).

The wings of the male butterflies are mainly black. Each forewing has seven teeth-shaped electric-green markings, while there is a relatively large electric-green patch on the hindwings. The head is bright red and the body is black with red markings. The wings of the female butterflies are browner with prominent white flashes at the tips of the forewings and at the base of the hindwings. Both genders resemble the more restricted relative, the Palawan Birdwing, but (among others) males of the Rajah Brooke's Birdwing have more green to the rearwings. The larval host plants are Aristolochia acuminata and A. foveolata. Adults sip flower nectar from plants such as Bauhinia.

Rajah Brooke's Birdwing is a protected species, listed under Appendix II of CITES, meaning that international trade is restricted.

It is the national butterfly of Malaysia.

The Large Blue (Phengaris arion, also known as Maculinea arion and Glaucopsyche arion) is a blue butterfly resident in Europe, the Caucasus,  Armenia, West Siberia, Altai, North-West Kazakhstan and in Sichuan. This butterfly is also portrayed on a Silk cloth on the cover also.

Thank you Hemant for this wonderful FDC.