Royal Mail Bee Themed Stamps

The UK Royal Mail launch bee-autiful sets of postage stamps featuring honey bees, bumble bees and solitary bees!

I’m really thrilled to see that today (18th august 2015), the UK’s Royal Mail has launched a beautiful set of bee-themed postage stamps, based on wonderful design by Anna Ekelund, and bee illustrations from wildlife artists, Richard Lewington and wood engraver, Andy English.

In short, you know when the cause of bees is high profile, when Royal Mail decides to produce a set of stamps dedicated to them! 

They have a range of collectible first day covers and booklets, and all of them are available from the Royal Mail website (see link below). 

About the stamps

The stamps feature bumble bees, solitary bees and honey bees, and there is a presentation pack written by Professor Dave Goulson (author of Bumblebee Behaviour And Ecology, among other books).

Here are some of the ranges available:

British Wild Bees

Featuring native wild bees foraging on a favourite flower, including some rare bumble bees and solitary bees. Illustrations by Richard Lewington.

The list of solitary bees included are:  Anthophora rotusa (Potter Flower Bee), Colletes floralis (Northern Colletes Bee), and Osmia xanthomelana (Large Mason Bee).

Two British bumble bees feature among the illustrations:  Bombus distinguendus (Great Yellow bumble bee), Bombus monticola (Bilberry bumble bee).

The illustrations by Richard Lewington are very beautiful.  Here is a close up of solitary bee, Anthophora rotusa (Potter Flower Bee).  See more artwork by Richard Lewington.

Richard Lewington has collaborated with Steven Falk on a brilliant new Field Guide to Bees Of Great Britain And Ireland.

- see my review of the field guide.

The Honey Bee

This set focuses on the highly industrious Western Honey Bee, Apis mellifera, and features

• the waggle dance,
  
  
• making honey, and
  
  
• pollination, 
  
  
• tending young larvae. 

There is an individual stamp featuring each of these honey bee activities printed from the wood engravings by Andy English.  He's a fantastic artist.

See more work artwork by wood engraver, Andy English.

 

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