Philatelic News February 2013 Vol. 9 No. 8

www.guernseystamps.com

Alderney Beetles

Endangered Species: Giant Panda

Guernsey Marine Life

to our first Philatelic News of 2013 and happy New Year to you all from the Guernsey Philatelic Bureau.

2012 had many topics to celebrate, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the centenary of the Titanic and our joint issue with Canada Post commemorating the War of 1812 with Guernseyman Sir Isaac Brock, leader of the British forces, to name but a few.

The 2013 programme opens with a very exciting augmented reality (AR) feature in the Guernsey Marine Life issue. This issue showcases the wonderful fish community we have in local Channel Island waters. The use of image-recognition technology brings the miniature sheet stamp to life by providing an interesting and colourful mini-documentary of these fish in their natural habit.

We also have the next in our Endangered Species series: The Giant Panda, once again Joel Kirk has beautifully illustrated this very rare and popular animal.

Completing our February releases is the Alderney invertebrates – Alderney Beetles. The finely illustrated stamps are again the work of Petula Stone, who provides us with excellent images of what these creatures actually look like close up.

A big thank you to everyone that voted for their favourite Guernsey or Alderney stamps of 2012 – you can see the prize draw winners overleaf.

Finally, we would also like to say a BIG thank you to all our account customers who continue to collect both Alderney and Guernsey stamps. A Miniature Sheet which depicts the gold postbox outside Sark’s Post Office has been produced and will be sent FREE of charge to all of you.

Order current stamp issues online for same day despatch.

www.guernseystamps.com

Visit our Guernsey Stamps Facebook page

The complete 2012 stamp collectionDon’t miss out on this fantastic collection of Guernsey and Alderney stamps.

Featuring all issues of 2012, this Guernsey Post year book makes a beautiful addition to any collection.

Order online at www.guernseystamps.com

Welcome Buy online

today!

Once in a while something very special happens locally which needs to be celebrated.In 2012 Sark’s Carl Hester’s outstanding achievements in the Equestrian world is something we are extremely proud of.This is the first time that Guernsey Post has changed the colour of Sark’s Postbox since it was painted blue in 1980, 11 years after the company became independent from the British Post Office in 1969.The Miniature Sheet will be available online for £1, however a sheet will be sent to all Guernsey Stamps account customers FREE of charge as a special thank you for your continued support.

SARK’S GOLD POSTBOX CELEBRATED!

And your favourite stamp issue of 2012 is....Endangered Species: The Bengal Tiger Thank you to the many who entered our competition. The winner of the 2013 Islands of Guernsey Calendar is Miss A. Siddiqui from Switzerland. Congratulations!

2013 Stamp ProgrammeGuernsey20 February 2013Endangered Species: Giant Panda Miniature Sheet , Miniature Sheet FDC, Miniature Sheet Presentation Pack

Guernsey Marine Life Set of 6 stamps, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack,Sheets of 10, Miniature Sheet , Miniature Sheet FDC,Miniature Sheet Presentation Pack

May 2013Europa: The Postman Van Set of 6 stamps, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack,Souvenir Sheet , Souvenir Sheet FDC, Sheets of 10

29 May 2013Herm IslandSet of 6 stamps, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack,Sheets of 10

31 July 2013The Beatles in Guernsey 1963 Set of 6 stamps, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack,Sheets of 10, Prestige Booklet

200th Anniversary of Guernsey Press & StarSet of 6 stamps, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack,Sheets of 10

September 2013SEPAC: Centenary of the West Show Set of 6 stamps, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack, Sheets of 10

30 October 2013Guernsey Christmas Stamps - When Santa Got Stuck Up the ChimneySet of 7 stamps, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack

Alderney20 February 2013Alderney Beetles Set of 6 stamps, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack,Souvenir Sheet , Souvenir Sheet FDC, Sheets of 10,

29 May 201360th Anniversery of the Queen’s Coronation Set of 6 stamps, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack, Sheets of 10, Prestige booklet

31 July 2013

70 Years since the Death of Beatrix Potter Set of 6 stamps, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack,Sheets of 10, Souvenir Sheet , Souvenir Sheet FDC

30 October 2013

Alderney Christmas Stamps - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Set of 7 stamps, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack

Tariffs, programme details and issue dates are subject to change without prior notice.

Bringing your stamps to life!Our Marine Life stamp series not only features stunning aquatic photography but in this innovative issue we truly bring the images captured on the stamps to life, using the technology of augmented reality, or ‘AR’.

So what is ‘AR’? AR is described as the art of super-imposing computer generated content over a physical image, quite literally enhancing what is already around us. It is the interaction of superimposed graphics, audio and other sense enhancements over a real-world environment that is displayed in real-time.

Using the wizardry of AR via an app developed by Lowe-Martin, the miniature sheet in our Marine Life issue reveals the Black-face Blenny (Tripterygion delaisi) in a whole new dimension, simply download the FREE Lowe-Martin app from the App Store and hold your device over the miniature sheet to see the Black-face Blenny in its natural habitat.

The app is availably for both Apple and Android devices.

We caught up with Sue and asked her about her underwater adventures:

GP: What do you particularly enjoy about diving around the Channel Islands?

SD: I love exploring beneath the waves and particularly around my home island of Sark. I’ve been diving in the Islands for over 24 years and am still just as fascinated by the sheer variety of wonderful marine life we have on our doorstep and I always surface wanting to see more.

GP: Do you have a favourite area and what makes it so special to you?

SD: The Gouliot Caves are one of my favourite areas, just four metres deep but lined with thousands of anemones. I also enjoy the deeper

walls and reefs off the south east of Sark such as L’Etac and the Vingt Clos their sheer walls are covered in corals, sponges and all sorts of other marine animals.

GP: Do you have a favourite fish species and if so why?

SD: My favourite fish, without a doubt, is the Cuckoo Wrasse, which features in the Marine Life issue. Living in groups of females with just a single male, if anything happens to the male the oldest female changes sex and colour to take his place, such fascinating behaviour. They are also very inquisitive so actively swim up to divers, it’s strange and rather humbling being looked straight in the eye by a fish!

GP: What do you find most challenging about your work in Channel Island waters?

SD: The water temperature can be a bit of a challenge so diving here for me definitely requires a dry suit and several layers of thermals underneath, but the greatest challenge are the tides. Almost all dives around the Bailwick need to be carefully planned and that’s even more critical on the spring tides. The plus side is that all this water surging around contributes to the richness of our marine life, as it carries masses of plankton with it, the basis of all life in the sea.

MARINE LIFEGUERNSEY

Sue Daly is a wildlife film-maker, photographer and writer based in the tiny Channel Island of Sark. Sue’s wonderful underwater images feature on our Marine Life issue which also includes a very special miniature sheet which, using the wizardry of Augmented Reality transports you under the ocean with Sue to watch just what goes on beneath the waves.

Miniature Sheet £5.00

with Augmented Reality stamp

Set of Stamps £3.80

Presentation Pack £4.70

34p The Annunciation39p Inn keeper shows Mary and Joseph to the stable 52p Jesus is born in the stable53p Angels come down amongst the shepherds59p The three Kings 69p Mary and baby Jesus74p The flight to Egypt

First Day Cover £5.00

MARINE LIFEGUERNSEY

39p Tompot Blenny52p Leopard-Spotted Goby53p Red Gurnard59p Female Cuckoo Wrasse69p Male Cuckoo Wrasse74p John Dory

Date of issue 20 February 2013

Designer Bridget Yabsley

Photographer Sue Daly

Printer Lowe-Martin

Values 39p, 52p, 53p, 59p, 69p, 74p

Miniature Sheet Value £5.00

Process Offset Lithography

Stamp size 40mm deep x 32mm wide

Miniature Sheet Stamp size 66mm deep x 48mm wide

Miniature Sheet size 100mm deep x 140mm wide

Paper 110gsm unwatermarked / PVA adhesive

Perforation 13 x 13.5

Cylinder A

Firs

t Day

Cov

er £

4.66

Pres

enta

tion

Pack

£4.

36

Min

iatu

re S

heet

FD

C £4

.66

with Augmented Reality stamp Set of Stamps £3.46

Sheets of 10 £34.60

Set of Stamps £3.46

As part of our invertebrates series we are delighted to feature some of the beetles which can be found in Alderney, which have been wonderfully illustrated by renowned international artist Petula Stone.

Alderney boasts a great number of beetles thanks to the Island’s incredible range of habitats in a very concentrated area.

Here we look in more detail at two of the six beetles depicted on the stamps: the oil (Meloe genus) and burying (Nicrophorus genus) varieties.

In the last hundred years, half of the UK’s native species of oil beetle have disappeared and only four remain – one being extremely rare.

Growing up to three centimetres long, the oil beetle’s life history is particularly fascinating - and rather gruesome. The female oil beetles dig burrows to lay their eggs and their larvae rely on nearby vegetation to complete their strange life cycle.

Once the larvae hatch they crawl up onto vegetation and wait on a flower head to hitch a ride back to the bee’s nest where they eat the bee’s eggs and its store of nectar and pollen. It has to be the right sort of bee, though, which most aren’t, which explains why the female beetle lays so many eggs. If three per thousand make it, the

bee has done well and the population rises.

Of the many species of burying – or sexton – beetle, several can be found in Alderney. These creatures use their large antennae to detect a dead animal from a very long distance. After finding the carcass of perhaps a small bird or mouse, the beetles fight until the winning pair – or occasionally a solitary female beetle, which later attracts a mate - remains.

The prospective parents begin to dig a hole below the carcass. While doing so, the beetles cover the animal with antibacterial and antifungal secretions; this delays the decay of the carcass and prevents the smell of rotting flesh which would attract competition. When the burial is complete – a process which can take up to eight hours – the adults strip off the fur or feathers. The female then lays the eggs in the soil nearby where they hatch after a few days. The larvae are able to feed on their own, but to speed their development the parents digest the flesh and regurgitate the liquidised food. If there are too many larvae for the size of the carcass the parents may reduce the number to suit. Parental care is quite rare amongst insects and the burying beetle is a remarkable exception.

With special thanks to the Alderney Wildlife Trust

ALDERNEY BEETL S

Sheets of 10 £34.60

First Day Cover £4.66Souvenir Sheet £3.46Souvenir Sheet First Day Cover £4.66Presentation Pack £4.36

ALDERNEY BEETL S

Date of issue 20 February 2013Designer Petula StonePrinter BDT InternationalValues 39p, 52p, 53p, 59p, 69p, 74pProcess Offset Lithography Stamp size 30.56mm deep x 38mm wideSouvenir Sheet size 100mm deep x 140mm wide Paper 110gsm unwatermarked / PVA adhesivePerforation 13.75Cylinder A

39p Rose Chafer Beetle Catonia aurata52p Burying Beetle Nicrophorus53p Green Tiger Beetle Cinindela campestis59p May Beetle Phyllophaga69p Netocia moria74p Oil Beetle Meloe

There is only one species of Giant Panda.

A member of the bear family, the Giant Panda is the only species in its genus. The animals have the digestive system of a carnivore, but have adapted to a vegetarian diet.

They depend almost exclusively on bamboo as a food source and can eat up to 80 pounds of this fibrous plant in just one day. Classified by the IUCN as Endangered, the most recent study of Giant Pandas and their habitat revealed there are only around 1,600 left in the wild.

Peaceful and secretive creatures, Giant Pandas have steadily lost their forest habitat to China’s expanding human population. These striking animals, which were once widespread in southern and eastern China, are now confined to fragmented forest patches high in the southwestern mountains.

Restricted and degraded habitat is the greatest threat to Giant Pandas. The animals’ range has contracted due to the conversion of forests to agricultural areas, poaching, and large-scale development activities such as road and rail construction.

Giant Panda

Size comparison average 6ft human and Giant Panda

6 ft

5ft

2.5ft

First Day Cover £4.20 Presentation Pack £3.90

Because of China’s dense human population, many panda populations are isolated in narrow belts of bamboo no more than 1.2km wide — and panda habitat is continuing to disappear as settlers push higher up the mountain slopes.

A further threat to pandas relates to their reliance on bamboo for food. Bamboo is subject to periodic ‘die-off’; before the significant human encroachment of their habitat, pandas could move to areas with healthy bamboo when a die-off occurred, however moving to alternate habitats may not now be so easy.

As China’s economy continues its rapid development, it is more important than ever to conserve the forest home of the Giant Panda — not just to safeguard this iconic species, but also to maintain the natural resources essential to sustain the people of China.

GUER

NSEY POST OFFICE

FIRST DAY OF ISSUE20 FEBRUARY 2013

Giant Panda Fact file

Scientific name: Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Diet: Omnivore

Average lifespan in the wild: 20 years

Size: 1.2 to 1.5 metres

Weight: 100 to 150kg

Date of issue 20 February 2013Designer Joel KirkPrinter Cator Security PrintersValues £3.00Process Offset Lithography Sheet size 84mm deep x 118mm wideStamp size 71.4mm deep x 59.6mm widePaper 110gsm unwatermarked / PVA adhesivePerforation 14 x 14.25Cylinder A

Miniature Sheet £3.00

185 x 132mm mono

The British National Stamp Exhibition

For further information visit our website:www.philatelic-traders-society.co.uk

MAKE A DATE FOR 2013

THE

ESSENTIAL UK

EXHIBITION

FOR ALL

STAMP

COLLECTORS

BUSINESS DESIGN CENTRE, 52 UPPER STREET, ISLINGTON GREEN, LONDON N1 0QH

Organised by the Philatelic Traders’ Society and supported by Royal Mail.Stampex Limited, P.O. Box 139Brighton, Sussex, BN41 9DHTel: +44 (0)1273 594110 Fax: +44 (0)1273 595379E: office.pts@btinternet.com

SPRING 2013 20th to 23rd February

AUTUMN 201318th to 21st September

Find us at stand

108.

soon to be withdrawn...These stamps will be withdrawn on 21 February 2013

Endangered Species: Bengal TigerMiniature Sheet £3.00 , First Day Cover £4.20, Presentation Pack £3.90

Centenary Of the TitanicSet of 6 stamps £3.09, First Day Cover £4.29, Presentation Pack £3.99, Sheets of 10 £30.90, Prestige Booklet £12.36

Queen’s Diamond JubileeSet of 6 stamps £3.09, First Day Cover £4.29, Presentation Pack £3.99, Souvenir Sheet £3.09, Souvenir Sheet FDC £4.29, Souvenir Sheet & Pack insert £3.29, Sheets of 10 £30.90

Issues currently available

See stock list for Guernsey self sticks, Raymond Evison Wild Flora Guernsey definitives 1 and Coral and Anemones Alderney definitives.

All correspondence to: FREEPOST GU267 Guernsey Philatelic Bureau Envoy House La Vrangue St Peter Port Guernsey Channel Islands GY1 5SS

Tel: +44 (0)1481 716486 Fax: +44 (0)1481 712082E-mail: philatelic@guernseypost.com www.guernseystamps.com

Channel Islands Specialists SocietyAnyone wishing to join the CISS, buy one of the Society’s excellent publications, or find out more, should write to:Moira Edwards86 Hall LaneSandonChelmsfordEssexCM2 7RQwww.ciss1950.org.uk

The War of 1812 (joint issue with Canada Post)

Sir Isaac Brock and Chief Tecumesh, the leaders who helped turn the tide of the

1812 war.

Date of issue: 15 June 2012

Celebrating 150 Years of The Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club

Dynamic shots of the 2011 J-Cup Regatta fleet commemorate this

anniversary milestone.

Date of issue: 25 July 2012

Alderney Invertebrates Tiger Moths & Ermines

The distinctive Tiger Moths found in Alderney are beautifully illustrated by

Petula Stone.

Date of issue: 25 July 2012

20th Anniversary of Floral Guernsey

A special set of stamps to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Floral Guernsey.

Date of issue: 27 September 2012

Guernsey & Alderney:The Christmas Story

Beautiful illustrations depicting the story of the Nativity.

Date of issue: 31 October 2012

The History of Alderney Harbour

The History of Alderney Harbour from 1800 to the present day, shown

through colourful illustrations.

Date of issue: 31 October 2012

200th Anniversary of Charles Dickens

In celebration of Charles Dickens, this set depicts illustrations by Cruikshank from

the famous novel ‘Oliver Twist’.

Date of issue: 8 May 2012

EUROPA: “Visit...”A wonderful set of stamps

photographed by Karl Taylor. The Bailiwick of Guernsey, a beautiful place to visit.

Date of issue: 1 May 2012

HRH The Duke of CambridgeA 30th Birthday celebration of the

Prince’s philanthropic drive and spirit.

Date of issue: 8 May 2012