Name of issue: Spiders of Southern Africa
Number of arachnid related stamps in issue: 6/6
Due to technical problems at the printers the miniature sheet was released on
28th October 2003, while the postcard was only released later. FDC’s and
maxicards were released later with date of issue post marks.
If you are interested in this issue, I highly encourage you to visit this link to consult an article from the Rhodesian Study Circle with a lot more information on this series as well as different variants that I do not have (scroll further on this page to see my rarities of this series).
Information is copied from the postal booklet.
$900 The Wolf Spider- Family Lycosidae
$1,250 The Violin Spider - family Loxoscelidae (see updated family in stamp description)
Six of the more common spiders (arachnids) have been selected for this issue, and although not
all spiders are harmful or deadly to humans, all spiders have poison glands and use their toxin to
catch and immobilize their prey before consuming them. Similar to snake venom, spider poison
comes in three different varieties: neurotoxic, which attacks the nervous system; cytotoxic, which
attacks the body cells, such as skin and fresh and hemotoxic, which breaks down the prey’s blood
cells.
$150 The Baboon Spider - Genus Harpactira
The baboon spider is big, hairy and scary! They are dark
brown to black in colour and live in silk lined burrows in
the ground. Baboon spiders are heavily built with a body,
head to end of abdomen of approximately 45mm and their
leg span can be as much as 95mm. The pedipalps (type of
feelers) are particularly long and thick. The silk glands or
spinnerets protrude beyond the abdomen.
The jaws or chelicerae are directed forwards and the spider strikes downwards with its fangs.
In all other spiders the fangs close with a pincer movement. Generally, eight simple eyes are
located towards the front of the cephalothorax. The baboon spider bite can be extremely
painful though not deadly and the victim will feel nauseous and may go into shock.
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| Michel #: 760 Scott #: 941 Yvert #: 508 order: Araneae family: Theraphosidae Harpactira sp. |
$200 The Rain Spider - Genus Palystes
The rain spider, so called because they are seen mostly during
the rainy season, are also arachnids and should not be confused
with the Red Roman which is NOT a spider and not poisonous.
The spider is greyish in colour with slightly darker markings
on abdomen. Legs are banded with yellow and dark brown
underneath.
The Rain Spider is a nocturnal, free ranging hunter and can run very swiftly and is often attracted
indoors by lights in order to prey on insects. Large in size with head to end of abdomen of
approximately 35mm. Leg span 60-70mm. A bite from this spider is extremely painful and some
authorities recommend an anti-tetanus injection.
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| Michel #: 761 Scott #: 942 Yvert #: 509 order: Araneae family: Sparassidae Palystes sp. |
$600 The Black Button or Widow Spider - Lactrodectus renivulvatus
The black button or widow spider is potentially the most
deadly of Zimbabwean spiders and Zimbabwe has four
different types. The black widow’s cobweb normally has
snare threads leading to ground at the base of rocks, logs
and in rubble. Their colour varies from dark brown to deep
black. They have no markings on the underside but some
have red or orange stripes or dots on the top.
Victims may or may not feel the bite or any immediate pain. As the neurotoxin venom goes
through the system, pain in the legs and chest, excessive sweating, nausea and stomach cramps
are experienced. Most at risk are children who do not have the body mass to absorb the poison
~ 2 ~
and persons who have heart problems and breathing problems such as asthma. The spider is not
generally aggressive but can often take up residence in a house where it may become dangerous
if not noticed. Size from head to end of abdomen of approximately 10-15mm in size. Nocturnal.
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| Michel #: 762 Scott #: 943 Yvert #: 510 order: Araneae family: Theridiidae Latrodectus renivulvatus Dahl, 1902 |
$900 The Wolf Spider- Family Lycosidae
Wolf spiders are the true tarantulas of Zimbabwe, although
the name is often mistakenly given to baboon spiders. The
spider is brown or grey with symmetrical markings on the
abdomen, sometimes black underneath with a radiating pattern
on head. The wolf spider is notable in that it has one pair of
large eyes. Generally, it is free roaming but others will build
trapdoor tunnels. One genus Hippasa, builds a funnel web to
catch its prey.
The female wolf spider carries an egg sac attached to its spinnerets until the young hatch, then
they ride on the mothers back. The male's pedipalps (feelers) are decorated with tufts of hair.
The size from head to end of abdomen is approximately 30mm in size. The I span can be as
much as 80mm.
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| Michel #: 763 Scott #: 944 Yvert #: 511 order: Araneae family: Lycosidae |
$1,250 The Violin Spider - family Loxoscelidae (see updated family in stamp description)
The violin spider has long slender legs and is often
mistaken for the harmless daddy long legs spider but
do not hang upside down in cobwebs. It has a strong
cytotoxic venom and is the most villainous of poison
carriers and can often cause severe necrosis. They are
nocturnal hunters who hide in dark places during the
day. They are fairly common and often live in houses
in Zimbabwe.
They will often enter a bed in the early morning or hide inside shoes and clothing where they
can inflict a fairly painless bite which can become a red, painful swelling after about six hours.
The resulting wound can easily become gangrenous if not treated properly. In colour they are
pale to dark reddish brown with a violin identifying mark of dark brown to blackish violin shape.
The size from head to end of abdomen is approximately 10 - 15mm in size. Its spindly leg span
is considerably larger.
$1600 The Wall Spider - Family Selenopidae
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| Michel #: 764 Scott #: 945 Yvert #: 512 order: Araneae family: *Sicariidae Loxoscelidae (on stamp) |
$1600 The Wall Spider - Family Selenopidae
The wall spider is very common in houses in Zimbabwe, they
are mottled greys and browns in colour with flat bodies.
Abdomens are heart-shaped and legs are held sideways, crab
like. The Wall Spider builds flat, papery egg cases on walls,
polls or bark. They are conspicuous on plain walls, hide in
cracks and move quickly to run down prey.
Their bite can be painful. The size from head to end of abdomen is approximately 10-15 mm in
size. Its leg span can be as much as 70 mm
Souvenir sheet:
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| Michel #: 765 Scott #: 946 Yvert #: 513 order: Araneae family: Selenopidae |
Souvenir sheet:
The souvenir sheet has a much darker contrast, sadly making the artwork more poorly illustrated. You can clearly tell when individual stamps come from the souvenir sheets and not the regular complete sheets.
Also, all the $150 values have a misprint of the letters "M" and "W" of the country Zimbabwe.
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| Michel #: Block 10 Yvert #: BF 5 |
Individual stamps from souvenir sheet:
Cylinder A blocks:
Complete sheets:
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| $1250 value, cylinder B (sheet #6) |
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| $1250 value, cylinder B (sheet #7) |
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| $1600 value, cylinder B (sheet #256) *regular color |
Rarities:
I would like to thank Mr. Geoff Brakspear of the Rhodesian Study Circle for taking time to review some of my less common material and offering his input and knowledge.
(reminder that you can visit this link to consult an article on more known varieties)
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| $200 value - mis-cut sheet with magenta margin |
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| $900 value - heavy vertical shift |
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| $200 - perforation shift |
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| $1600 value, cylinder B (sheet #1137) *red color variant |
**It is quite usual with the printing of Zimbabwe's stamps to have color differences as the one above. It is usually due to varying strengths of the printing inks, in this case having the magenta stronger.
Imperforated:
Until recently, imperforated stamps of this series were pretty much unheard of. All the imperforate items are from proof sheets and are not issued stamps. I managed to get in touch with someone who had purchased the stock from the Harare print company when they shut down.
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| imperforated $200 value, cylinder A |
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| imperforated $600 value, cylinder A |
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| imperforated $600 value, cylinder B |
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| imperforated $1250 value, cylinder A |
Information booklet:
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| outer pages |
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| inner pages |
Technical information:
Size: 42 x 28 mm
Sheets: 50 stamps, 10 x 5
Artist: Darren Herbert
Quantity printed:
$ 150 = 1 500 000
$ 200 = 1 500 000
$ 600 = 200 000
$ 900 = 200 000
$1 250 = 200 000
$1 600 = 200 000
M/S = 20 000
Cylinders: 1A & 1B
Paper: Type H
Print colours: Cyan, magenta, yellow, black
Perforations: 14¼ x 14
Imprint block: 3 stamps - Type 1/1 D
Cylinder block: 4 stamps - Type 4
Number block: 4 stamps - Type 3a
