Arachnids on stamps: Singapore (2011)

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Singapore (2011)

Date of issue: February 16th, 2011 (high value definitives)
April 13th, 2011 (low value definitives)
Name of issue: Pond life
Number of arachnid related stamps in issue: 1/14

Another brilliant series from Singapore with exceptional art work. What the scans do not reveal is that every animal has a metallic sheen to it when angled properly. They have issued as well two more stamps in 2012 that are part of this series. The souvenir sheet is absolutely amazing, it incorporates every stamp of that series.

Information from the postal services booklet (please note that the information about the animals may or may not be accurate, I am simply re-typing the information).

A pond is an inland body of standing water, either natural or man-made, which is smaller than a lake. It undergoes marked changes as time passes, and the most obvious changes that one will notice is that one form of plant follows or succeeds another, and the different life forms that make the pond a lively busy place.

There are plenty of opportunities for exciting discoveries at a pond, and this set of definitives stamps ($1.10, $2, $5, $10) with its intricate designs, shows some commonly found life forms at a pond.

Pond Wolf Spiders (Pardosa pseudoannulata) are members of the family Lycosidae, and are robust and agile hunters, and have good eyesight. They live mostly solidary lives and hunt alone. Wolf spiders are unique in carrying their eggs along with them in a round silken globe, or egg sac, which they attach to the spinnerets at the end of their abdomen. The abdomen must be held in a raised position to keep the egg case from dragging on the ground, but they are still capable of hunting while so encumbered. Also unique to wolf spiders is their method of infant care. Immediately after the little spiders hatch and emerge from their protective silken case, they clamber up their mother's legs and all crowd onto her abdomen.