Canada Post issues 22¢ Butterfly make-up rate stamp March 31

Canada Post issued a 22¢ Monarch Butterfly stamp March 31 to serve as a make-up rate stamp for the country’s new postage rates.

Canada’s domestic letter rate increased dramatically on that date, changing from 63¢ to 85¢.

This new stamp, part of the Beneficial Insects definitive series, was issued in panes of 50.

The Beneficial Insects stamps are designed and illustrated by Keith Martin. He stated in Canada Post’s Details magazine that the new stamp design “ … let me take the 2009 two-cent stamp, which depicted the monarch caterpillar, literally to the next level.”

The 22¢ stamp joins other low-value definitive stamps issued in the series between 2007 and 2012.

Five stamps in the series were issued Oct. 12, 2007: a 1¢ Convergent Beetle stamp (Scott 2234), a 3¢ Golden-eyed Lacewing stamp (2235), a 5¢ Northern Bumble Bee stamp (2236), a 10¢ Canada Darner stamp (2237), and a 25¢ Cecropia Moth stamp (2238), along with a souvenir sheet of five (2238a).

The 2¢ Danaus plexippus (monarch) caterpillar stamp was issued April 22, 2009 (Scott 2328).

Five additional stamps were issued Oct. 19, 2010: a 4¢ Paper Wasp stamp (Scott 2406), a 6¢ Assassin Bug stamp (2407), a 7¢ Large Milkweed Bug stamp (2408), an 8¢ Margined Leatherwing stamp (2409), and a 9¢ Dogbane Beetle stamp (2410), along with a souvenir sheet of five (2410a).

On Oct. 16, 2012, a souvenir sheet of three (Scott 2409b) was issued using three of the previous stamp designs (the 3¢, 4¢ and 8¢), but with different microprinting and details.

Canadian Bank Note printed the new Monarch Butterfly stamp by five-color offset lithography on Tullis Russell paper, with general tagging on all four sides. The stamp is perforated and has PVA gum.

As definitives, the stamps will be in continuous printing as needed.

The pane of 50 stamps is Canada Post item 420022107.

Canada Post will service 17,400 official first-day covers franked with the stamp. The FDC will have a Pelee Island, Ontario, postmark and is Canada Post item 420022121.

Canada Post products are available at www.canadapost.ca/shop. Stamps and FDCs will be available by mail order from the National Philatelic Centre, Canada Post Corp., 75 St. Ninian St., Antigonish, NS B2G 2R8, Canada; or by telephone from the United States and Canada at 800-565-4362, and from other countries at 902-863-6550.

Canada’s stamps and stamp products are also available from many new-issue stamp dealers, and from Canada Post’s agent in the United States: Interpost, Box 420, Hewlett, NY 11557.