South Africa:Beautiful Butterflies and Moths

Most people, at some time in their lives, have marvelled at the beauty and grace of a butterfly darting from flower to flower, or have looked on in fascination at a moth drawn to the flickering light of a candle. In recognition of South Africa's rich variety of lepidoptera, the South African Post Office issued a set of ten stamps and two First Day Covers featuring moths and butterflies on 10 May 2013.

Issue Description
Butterflies have been the subject of numerous poems, paintings, songs, studies and collections. The delicacy of their finely patterned wings, some of which are painted in vivid colours, their energetic behaviour and conspicuous presence in our gardens and nature reserves all contribute to our fascination with them.

However, the charm of butterflies is not just their beauty; they lead fascinating lives that are often still not fully understood and, most of all, looking for them is fun.

Issue Details
Butterflies belong to one of the most diverse orders of insects. Worldwide, there are 127 different families of moths and butterflies, consisting of more than 100,000 species

In South Africa, there are about 670 butterfly species, of which 6% (40 species) are listed in the latest Red Data Book (in prep.). Two species have already become extinct, three are listed as critically endangered, six are endangered and 29 are vulnerable.

Stamps
The butterflies and moths depicted on the stamps, were chosen for conservation status (rare and endangered), endemicity, and beauty

Aeropetes tulbaghia (Table Mountain Beauty), for example, is a near-endemic charismatic species that the Lepidopterists' Society of Africa is promoting as South Africa's National Butterfly.

Alaena margaretacea (Wolkberg Zulu) and Lepidochrysops lotana (Lotana Blue) have recently had second localities discovered, they were once only known from single localities.

Silver Spotted Ghost (Leto venus) (Standard Postage)

Leto venus Leto is a monotypic moth genus of the family Hepialidae. The only described species is L. venus which is endemic to South Africa. The larval food plant is Virgilia.

Wolkberg Zulu (Alaena margaritacea) (Standard Postage)

Alaena margaritacea, the Wolkberg Zulu belongs to the Lycaenidae family. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is only known from grassy slopes adjoining afromontane forest in the Haenertsburg area near the Wolkberg in Limpopo. It is under severe threat from alien tree plantations, as only two colonies are known to exist].

Marieps Emperor (Charaxes marieps) (Standard Postage)

Charaxes marieps, or Marieps Emperor is restricted to afromontane forest in Mpumalanga, south of the Olifants River (centred on Mariepskop) to Sabie.

Coast Purple Tip (Colotis erone) (Standard Postage)

Colotis erone, or the Coast Purple Tip is found in coastal lowland forests and wooded savannah from Port St. Johns in the Eastern Cape along the coast to Durban in KwaZulu-Natal and as far as Mozambique.

Dickson's Strandveld Copper (Chrysoritis dicksoni) (Standard Postage)

Chrysoritis dicksoni, Dickson’s Copper or Dickson’s Strandveld Copper is a species of butterfly in the Lycaenidae family. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is only known from near Witsand in the Western Cape. Previously, it was also found north of Cape Town. It is sometimes separated in the monotypic genus Oxychaeta.

Lotana Blue (Lepidochrysops lotana) (Standard Postage)

Lepidochrysops lotana or Lotana Blue is a species of butterfly in the Lycaenidae family. It is endemic to South Africa, where it is only known from two localities in the Limpopo province - on the western slope of the Ysterberg and from Lekgalameetse Nature Reserve to Serala Forest in the Wolkberg area.

Barber's Cape Flats Ranger (Kedestas barberae ssp. bunta) (Standard Postage)

Kedestes barberae bunta or Barber's Cape Flats Ranger is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is only known from one small locality at Strandfontein, near Cape Town.

Waterberg Copper (Erikssonia edgei) (Standard Postage)

Erikssonia edgei, Waterberg Copper is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in South Africa from the north-facing base of the Perdekop peak in the Waterberg. It is named after Dave Edge, who, together with Esmé Edge, discovered the population in the Waterberg near Vaalwater. It has since disappeared from this locality and may now be extinct.

Scarce Mountain Copper (Trimenia malagrida ssp. maryae) (Standard Postage)

Trimenia malagrida malagrida or the Scarce Mountain Copper is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It was once found near Lion's Head in Cape Town, and is feared to be extinct.

Table Mountain Beauty (Aeropetes tulbaghia) (Standard Postage)

Aeropetes tulbaghia or Table Mountain Beauty is a large, spectacular and easy to see in our mountain scenery, from Cape Town to the Soutpansberg. It is almost endemic to South Africa - found only here and in Zimbabwe and is the sole pollinator for the Red Disa orchid. It is an icon of our threatened ecosystems - montane grassland and fynbos.

First Day Covers
The two First Day Covers depict :
 * Callioratis millar or Millar’s Tiger Moth is one of a few species of geometrid moths, probably of ancient origin, that could be regarded as living fossils called the diptychines. There are 17 known species belonging to the subfamily Diptychinae, all confined to Africa. There are seven species of Callioratis, five endemic to South Africa.
 * Papilio euphranor, Forest Swallowtail or Bush Kite is a scarce, endemic butterfly of the Papilionidae family found in southern Africa.

References & Notes
References

Notes