TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE

 This post is for Viridian´s Sunday Stamps, Theme: anything you want.

"If bees disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.” (Albert Einstein)

I thought of writing about these stamps because of my son. He is almost 2 years old, and one of the other days he was looking so fascinated at these small creatures that I was really impressed and looked myself a bit closer. Since immemorial times, bees behaviour has inspired myths, legends, tales, poems and fables. At the same time the bee inspired love and was loved by both gods and human beings.

Bees have a vital role in the pollination (reproduction) of ­thousands of plants species. For 50 million years since they are present on the Earth, bees have contributed to the evolution of the vegetal kingdom, as it exists today.

minisheet of 4 stamps with illustrated attachment and gold foiling

Coming to all philatelists needs, Romfilatelia introduced into circulation the postage stamps issue “Honey Bees” in January 2010.

The European honey bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) is shown on the stamp having a face value of ­RON 0.50. This is a bee with a special resistance to winter’s cold and an increased tendency of defense against enemies. It collects a large volume of pollen and lives longer than other bees. It also has the capacity to fly long distances. This bee lives in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, North of Switzerland, North-West of Austria, Belarus, North of Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Russia.

The Italian honey bee (Apis mellifera ligustica) is shown on the stamp having a face value of RON 2.10. This bee spreads through North America, South America and Southern Europe. It is mild and ­produces honey in considerable amounts. It lives in large colonies needing more food resources to survive the winter.

The Slovenian honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) is shown on the stamp having a face value of RON 3.10. It is a sub-species of the European honey bee ­originating from Slovenia but it may be found in Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Romania.

The Caucasian honey bee (Apis mellifera caucasica) is shown on the stamp having a face value of RON 4.30. It is a larger bee than the average; it is mild and hard working. It is usually found in the Caucasus Mountains. 

Title: Honey bees

Date of Issue: 22 January 2010

Country: Romania

Source: http://www.romfilatelia.ro
Denominations: 50b, 2L10, 3L10, 4L30

RUSSIAN LILIES

Today´s surprise for me was a bunch of flowers on stamps, from a Russian friend, Alexei. You can see them below. Each flower has a greeting on it :)

Cinnabar Lily - "Our Congratulations!".
Thunderbolt Lily - "Happy Birthday!".
Stargazer Lily - "We Wish You Happiness!".
Gilded Lily - "From the Bottom of the Heart!".
Regal Lily - "We Wish You Love and Joy!".

Not much to say about flowers, but I think they are quite nice. If you want to read more about them, follow this link http://www.backyardgardener.com

I miss only their perfume...

the FDC

the Souvenir Sheet

Title: Lilies

Date of Issue: 20 February 2002

Country: Russia

Source: http://www.m-brella.be/stamps/RUSSIA/russia/2002/2002.html

Denominations: 5 x 2,50 (R)

BIRDS FROM BURKINA FASO

For these Sunday Viridian proposed us to write about bird stamps. 
Lately I have received a nice set and I was curious to find out more. The stamps are from Burkina Faso, formerly the French colony of Upper Volta. They achieved independence in 1960, and the name of the country was changed to Burkina Faso in 1984.


Burkina Faso is home to an impressive number of species of birds that vary from residents, that stay all year around, to breeding birds, that spend a good part of the growing season in Burkina Faso to raise their young, migrants who pass through Burkina Faso with the seasons, to wintering birds who like to spend a good part of the winter in Burkina Faso to escape colder conditions up north. 
Here are four stamps from 1996 (received from Haomin Zhu). On their tabs you can also see the area where each bird can be mostly found.

They illustrate as follows: 500f Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)

Peregrine Falcons catch medium-sized birds in the air with swift, spectacular dives, called stoops. In cities they are masterful at catching pigeons. Elsewhere they feed especially on shorebirds and ducks. They often sit on high perches, waiting for the right opportunity to make their aerial assault.

750f Brown Eared Pheasant (Crossoptilon mantchuricum) It is a large-size fowl genus, with a body length of about 96 centimeters. The body feathers are mainly deep brown. The head and neck are splendid black, with auriculars in white clusters and silicle-shaped. The remiges are light brown. The waist and the base portion of rectrices are white. Brown-eared Pheasant inhabits in bushes with much grass or arbor areas in the woods, and lodge on frondose twig during nights. It feeds on seeds, leaf buds and burgeons of pines, rubber trees, etc. It builds nests in sunken areas between pines, birches, or bushes. 1000f Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) It is a wild goose, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body. Its nest is usually located in an elevated area near water such as streams, lakes, ponds and sometimes on a beaver lodge. Its eggs are laid in a shallow depression lined with plant material and down. It is a migratory bird. Canada Geese flying in V-shaped formation signal the transitions into spring and autumn. 1500f Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus cripus)

It breeds in swamps and shallow lakes. The nest is a crude heap of vegetation. This is the largest of the pelicans, averaging 170–190 cm in length, 11–15 kg in weight and just over 3 m in wingspan. This pelican migrates short distances. In flight, it is an elegant soaring bird, with the flock moving in synchronous. This pelican eats fish and small birds.


Oficial website of the Burkina Faso Post Office: http://ecommerce.sonapost.bf/

Don´t forget to check out the other posts about BIRDS here:

Title: Endangered Birds

Date of Issue: 25 June 1996

Country: Burkina Faso

Source: wikipedia

Denominations: 500f, 750f, 1000f, 1500f