Republic of the Philippines - Stamps & Postal History

RP Issues of 2015

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2015, March 27.  Tutubi (Dragonflies) of the Philippines

Litho Offset, Amstar Company, Inc.,  Perf 14

Miniature Sheets of 9 Different Stamps;  Souvenir Sheets of One + Label

                       

 

10p  Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo meridionalis)

10p  Small Red Damselfly (Ceriagrion tenellum)

10p  Golden-ringed dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii)

10p  Blue-Tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

10p  White-Legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes)

10p  Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)

10p  Club-Tailed Dragonfly (Gomphus simillimus)

10p  Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)

10p  Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina)

 

Miniature Sheets of Nine  -  22,000

 

40p Souvenir Sheets of One + Label  (5,000)

 

 

 

First Day Covers:  Manila

  

   

         

TUTUBI - Dragonflies of the Philippines

10p  Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo meridionalis).  Large, dark damselfly, typically found along small, clean, rapidly flowing forest streams, sometimes in large numbers, where it flutters about with a butterfly-like flight, settling frequently on trees and bushes along the stream border.  http://eol.org/pages/4139772/overview

10p  Small Red Damselfly (Ceriagrion tenellum).  A small damselfly, it is 25–35 millimetres (0.98–1.38 in) long. It is a lot shorter than the large red damselfly, with which it is sometimes confused.  In both sexes, the thorax is bronze-black on top.  The male has an entirely red abdomen.  The female has a bronze-black abdomen with only the front and back of it red. The dark form melanogastrum has an almost entirely dark abdomen marked with pale segment divisors, the last two of which are reddish.   Adults fly low and weakly, rarely going far from breeding waters.  They rarely fly in any but the warmest and calmest weather conditions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_red_damselfly

10p  Golden-ringed dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii).  A very large dragonfly,  with both  the thorax and abdomen black with bright yellow bands.  The legs are black with yellow bases  and the abdomen is swollen towards the tip. The large green eyes meet in a point at the top of the head. Females can be identified by the presence of a long pointed ovipositor at the tip of the abdomen.  As with other dragonflies, the large wings are held outstretched when at rest, not folded back over the body as in damselflies.  The large aquatic larva is hairy, and spends most of its life partially buried in the sediment with just the eyes and tip of the abdomen visible. The short head has prominent eyes, and in common with other dragonfly larvae, it is armed with fearsome mouthparts.  http://www.arkive.org/golden-ringed-dragonfly/cordulegaster-boltonii/

10p  Blue-Tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans).  Widespread and common.  It is not choosy as to habitat, though it prefers lakes and ponds, being less common on flowing water and in exposed and upland sites.  Females occur in a variety of colour forms.  Adult male blue-tailed damselflies have a head and thorax patterned with blue and black. They have a largely black abdomen with very narrow pale markings where each segment joins the next. Segment eight, however, is entirely pale blue. At rest, the wings of most damselfly species are held back together, unlike dragonflies, which rest with their wings out flat. Female blue-tailed Damselflies come in a variety of color forms.  Juveniles may be salmon pink, violet, or pale green.  The colour darkens as the damselfly ages.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-tailed_damselfly

10p  White-Legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes).  A damselfly of slow-flowing, muddy waters, with thin and straight body.  Males are a more or less dark bluish white colour. Females are brownish.  The eyes are separated. Males' eyes are blue, females' eyes are brown.  The tibia of the middle legs and hind legs are white and wide. They are dark-lined along the upper side.  The upper side of the abdomen shows a black longitudinal line which is sometimes discontinued.  http://toutunmondedansmonjardin.perso.neuf.fr/EN/pages_EN/platycnemis_pennipes_EN.htm

10p  Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator).   Also known as the blue emperor, 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.  They frequently fly high up into the sky in search of prey, which includes butterflies, and tadpoles; small prey is eaten while flying. They breed in a variety of aquatic habitats from large ponds to dykes, but they require a plentiful supply of vegetation in the water. The females lay the eggs into plants such as pondweed, and always lay alone. The male is highly territorial, and difficult to approach.  When they first emerge, both sexes appear pale green with brown markings. The legs are brown with a yellow like base. Wings are born black but grow yellow-brown with age. Males have a sky blue abdomen marked with a diagnostic black dorsal stripe and an apple green thorax. The thorax and head of a male is green and their prominent eyes are blue. Females have similar markings but they are mainly green. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_%28dragonfly%29

10p  Yellow Club-tailed Dragonfly (Gomphus simillimus).  Like all members of the Gomphidae Family, the yellow club-tailed is distinguished by having eyes that are widely separated, rather than touching as in other dragonfly species.  As its name suggests, the adult yellow club-tailed dragonfly is bright yellow in color, with bold, black markings on the abdomen and thorax. The legs are striped with yellow and the eyes are pale blue.  In general, members of the Gomphidae Family do not show much variation in colour between the sexes, although the female of some species may be slightly duller. The male yellow club-tailed dragonfly has a distinctly club-shaped tip to the abdomen.  http://www.arkive.org/yellow-club-tailed-dragonfly/gomphus-simillimus/

10p  Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum).  The Ruddy Darter takes its name from its color and its swift flight behavior. The male dragonfly has a deep russet color over the entire body and the abdomen has a pinched section close to where it joins the thorax. Females are slightly smaller, golden yellow in color and being less obviously marked, are more difficult to identify than the males. There is more than one red colored darter and they can be easily confused with each other. The commonest red species, the common darter, can be distinguished as having red veins at the base of the wings and a less ruddy coloration across the body. This is more readily visible when the insect is at rest.  However, the ruddy darter has entirely black legs, distinguishing it from all other red darters which have longitudinal yellow stripes on their legs. This feature alone cannot be used to identify the red darter, since immature black darters also have entirely black legs.  http://www.arkive.org/ruddy-darter/sympetrum-sanguineum/

10p  Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina).  The Halloween pennant's characteristics vary depending on the sex and age of the dragonfly. The larvae (also known as a nymph or naiad) can grow from 5 to 6 cm in length and are yellow to green. Their rectal chamber contains gills and can be used to jet them through the water. Before they emerge as adults, the larvae develop compound eyes and tissue from the labium is withdrawn. As the dragonfly matures, the cuticle becomes thicker and the males develop their bright colors such as reds, yellows, and browns. The males also develop red rectangular spots on the front edge of each wing. They can also grow to 35 to 42 mm. The females are yellow.  http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Celithemis_eponina/

40p  Broad-Bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa).  One of the most common dragonflies in Europe and central Asia. It is very distinctive with a very broad flattened abdomen, four wing patches and, in the male, the abdomen becomes pruinose blue.  The male and female have a broad, flattened abdomen which is brown with yellow patches down the sides. In the male the abdomen develops a blue pruinosity that covers the brown color. Both fore and hind wings have a dark patch at the base. Both the male and female have broad ante-humeral stripes. The average wingspan is approximately 70 mm.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libellula_depressa

 

 

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