Sunday Stamps - I3 Czechoslovakia, Great Britain

A scarce swallowtail butterfly is my first stamp this week.

Czechoslovakia - 23 May 1966
Iphiclides podalirius

Other names for iphiclides podalirius are sail swallowtail and pear tree swallowtail.

1978 was the year for the 25th Anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth when she was crowned with the - 

Great Britain - 31 May 1978
Imperial State Crown

The Queen also wears this crown at the annual State Opening of Parliament.

In 1841 Sir Richard Owen coined the word dinosaur from two Greek words - deinos (terrible, powerful, wondrous) and sauros (lizard). Owen was also responsible for setting up what we now know as the Natural History Museum.

Great Britain - 20 August 1991
150th Anniversary of Owen's Dinosaurs
Iguanodon

For other 'I' stamps check out the links at Sunday-Stamps-i.

A - Z Challenge 2015 - Butterflies 'S'

S - Speckled Wood, Swallowtail

The Speckled Wood we see frequently in Yorkshire but the Swallowtail in the British Isles is confined to wetland areas of eastern England.

The Speckled Wood is another of those butterflies that visits our Butterfly Bush, As it always seems to be on the move its difficult to photograph, however I caught up with one elsewhere on a shrub in our garden.

Speckled Wood (Pararge segeria) on Euonymous bush

The Strumpshaw Fen nature reserve  in Norfolk managed by the RSPB is one of the few breeding sites for the Swallowtail.

Swallowtail (Papilio britannicus) at Strumpshaw

The Swallowtail is the largest resident British butterfly with a wingspan of 8 - 10cm.

I've yet to see one. Until yesterday at least; but the ones I saw at Butterfly World at Preston Park in Eaglescliffe where tropical Swallowtails.

Love is like a butterfly
As soft and gentle as a sigh
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing

I feel it when you're with me
It happens when you kiss me
That rare and gentle feeling that I feel inside
Your touch is soft and gentle
Your kiss is warm and tender
Whenever I am with you I think of butterflies

Love is like a butterfly
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing

Your laughter brings me sunshine
Every day is spring time

Photo attribution:

• Swallowtail: RSPB Strumpshaw Fen, geograph.or.uk, 11 June 2007, by Janet Richardson - CC BY-SA 2.0

A-Z Challenge 2015 - Butterflies 'I'

I - Indian Butterflies

I almost had to resort to a Latin species name Icararia Icariodes for 'I' until I thought of looking for butterflies from Indiana of India. That Latin name belongs to a Canadian butterfly, the Boisduval's Blue.

I settled for two swallowtail butterflies from India in the end as India is one of the 17 mega-diverse countries in the world. It hosts c1800 species and subspecies of butterflies with 15-20% of those endemic to the Indian Region.

Bhutan Glory (Bhutan lidderdalii)

This swallowtail, as the name implies, is found in Bhutan, parts of North-East India and South-East Asia. Although this specimen looks brown to me it is described as dull black above with slim wavy cream-coloured striations crossing its wings.

Judging by the background to the shot this specimen appears to be dead.

My second swallowtail, a native to India, is very much alive.

Crimson Rose (Pachliopta hector)

The underside shows its beautiful markings and red body of this butterfly photographed at Nagpur, Maharastra, India. Perhaps that body warns off its enemies. It is inedible due the foodplants which its larvae consume.

Love is like a butterfly
As soft and gentle as a sigh
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing

I feel it when you're with me
It happens when you kiss me
That rare and gentle feeling that I feel inside

Photo attributions:

• Bhutan Glory: by Brian McKenna - CC BY-SA 2.5
• Crimson Rose: by Dr Tarique Sani, 10 April 2005, uploaded by User Nature Leader - CC BY-SA 2.5