There are very few species of butterflies in Barbados and some threatened on daily basis. This is due to habitat loss and the used of more the herbicides and pesticides.
Therefore the Postal Administration of Barbados has collaborated with the WWF organization issued the stamp series features butterfly species, White peacock, Great Southern White, Orion , Mimic (Hypolimnas misippus) and Monarch . The stamps have logo of WWF and issued on April 21st, 2005 and logo of The Pacific Explorer 2005-World Stamp Expo.
The stamp 50c depicts White Peacock or Anartia jatrophae.
The White Peacock has a white colour on the upper side, blending to buff and orange in margins, overlaid with a complex pattern of brown and orange scrawls and small block eyespots on the below side. The wing span is 50 – 60mm.
The White peacocks are found in swampy places, water sites, shore lines and disturbed ground. The range of distribution is South Texas and Florida, Central and South America and the Caribbean.
The stamp $1.00 depicts Great Southern White or Ascia monuste.
The Great Southern White or Ascia monuste is a butterfly species that considered as a arch enemy in the farm community. Its has wingspan of 45 – 65 mm. The range distribution of this species is Gulf Coast States in USA, Caribbean and south America.
The larval food plants are members of the Kale family include cabbage and mustard. In Barbados the Kale family growing in fields and roadsides.
The stamp $1.40 depicts Orion or Historius odius.
The Orion or Historius odius is a large butterfly species which has the colour of velvety dark brown and orange on the upper wings and dark brown with white bars on the underneath. When closed the wings resemble a dry leaf or a piece of bark, which allows the Orion to blend in with its surroundings. The wing span is 110 – 130 mm.
The Orion has distribution ranged from Cuba to the Greater and lesser Antilles, Mexico to Argentina. It feeds on rotting fruit.
The stamp $2.50 depicts Mimic or Hypolimnas misippus.
The Mimic (Hypolimnas misippus) or Danaid Eggfly is a widespread species of nymphalid butterfly. It is well known for polymorphism and mimicry. Males are blackish with distinctive white spots that are fringed in blue. Females are in multiple forms that include male like forms while others appear like the toxic Danaus chrysippus and Danaus plexippus butterflies. The male has the upper wings dark velvety brownish-black. The forewing has a broad white oval spot .They are found across Africa, Asia and Australia.
The block stamp $ 8.00 depicts Monarch or Danaus plexippus.
The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae), in the family Nymphalidae. The Monarch’s wingspan ranges from 8.9–10.2 cm .The upper side of the wings is tawny-orange, the veins and margins are black, and in the margins are two series of small white spots. The fore wings also have a few orange spots near the tip. The underside is similar but the tip of the fore wing and hind wing are yellow-brown instead of tawny-orange and the white spots are larger.
The male has a black patch of androconial scales responsible for dispersing pheromones on the hind wings, and the black veins on its wing are narrower than the female’s. The male is also slightly larger.
The monarch is the only butterfly that migrates both north and south as the birds do on a regular basis.Monarch butterflies are one of the few insects capable of making trans-Atlantic crossings.
Monarch butterflies are poisonous or distasteful to birds and mammals because of the presence of cardiac glycosides that are contained in milkweed consumed by the larva. It is thought that the bright colours of larvae and adults function as warning colours. During hibernation monarch butterflies sometimes suffer losses because hungry birds pick through them looking for the butterflies with the least amount of poison, but in the process killing those that they reject.
