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Insects (Beetles)
The Mauritius Postal Services is issuing a set of four
postage stamps on Insects (beetles) in its natural history series. The set
comprises stamps of the Re1, Rs2, Rs3 and Rs 15 denominations.
The number of species of beetles (Coleoptera) that
occur in Mauritius is not known with any exactitude, for many are of cryptic
habit and have yet to be discovered and described. At the last compilation, in
1967, 1165 species were listed from the Mascarenes, most of them from
Mauritius, and it may be confidently stated that the actual number is much
greater than that. Many species are of economic significance, attacking
various crops, timbers, stored produce, etc but most are innocuous and among
the latter are the majority of the endemic species.
The species endemic to Mauritius, that is, species
which have evolved in Mauritius and occur nowhere else, are of great faunistic
interest and form part of the national patrimony. Likewise are those confined
to the Mascarenes.
Among the beetles and in the family Curculionidae (the
weevils) is the genus Cratopus, where speciation has been profuse in the
Mascarenes. More than 30 species of this genus are unique to Mauritius and
nearly all of them occur in uncultivated areas where they are associated with remnants
of the native vegetation. Many are difficult to find and some may be on the
verge of extinction.
Their adults (beetles) feed on the foliage of trees
and shrubs, while the immature stages occur in the soil: otherwise little is
known of their biology.
Except for the Cratopus chrysochlorus, all the species
shown on the stamps are Mauritian endemics. This exception is also found in
Reunion, although there appear to be some differences in colour pattern between
the Mauritian and Reunion populations of this species indicating divergence. What
can be said about one of these species on the stamps applies to all of them,
i.e. they are rare, their actual foodplants are unknown but they are associated
with natural vegetation, of which little remains.
Re1 - Cratopus striga
The stamp portrays the beetle Cratopus striga.
It is a stout-bodied black insect with a narrow pure-white band of
scales across the base of the elytra (thickened forewings).
Rs2 - Cratopus armatus
The stamp features the beetle Cratopus
armatus. Its body is navicular. It is dark with a narrow stripe of orange
scales running laterally along the edges of the elytra.
Rs3 - Cratopus chrysochlorus
The stamp shows the Cratopus
chrysochlorus. This insect has a fusiform body and is relatively a large
species. It has a narrow median stripe of white scales on the head, a
uniformly dark thorax and an elytra entirely covered with scales having a
striking blue-green-gold iridescence.
Rs15 - Cratopus nigrogranatus
The stamp illustrates the Cratopus
nigrogranatus. It has an elongated body with brilliant green and coppery
scales with shiny black granules between them.
FDC illustration
The FDC design illustrates the Cratopus
flavomaculatus. Its body is covered with a striking yellow on black
pattern resulting from patches of yellow scales on a black derm.
Cancellation Cachet
The cancellation cachet specially design
for the issue is applied on first day cover only.
Technical Details
Designer : Ross Watton
Printer : The House of Questa
Size : 27.94 x 44.45 mm
Souvenir Sheet Size : 100 x 130 mm
Perforation : 14
Gum : PVA
Paper : Crown Agents Watermarked
Sheet Format : 50 stamps set in 2 panes of 25
Release Date : 29 March 2000
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