Nick Prendergast's List of Stamps with an Odonate Theme

Note: Newer issues are included in the list by country only.

Before his death in 1988, odonatist Nick Prendergast of Britain made this list available to interested stamp collectors and fellow odonatists in the hopes that it would have a wider distribution. The list was kindly provided to me by Dr. Dan Johnson, to whom Nick gave the task of distributing it.

This list is divided into 4 parts:

The references used in compiling this list, and any notes follow at the end.

For convenience, I have reorganized this list by country and included the Scott's Postage Stamp Catalogue numbers since Scott's is more readily available in the United States. Note: the newer issues I have run across are included in the list by country only.

Odonate is central theme and can be identified

 
Zygoptera (Damselflies)
           country            cat no. year  value species 
      
Japan 198760yCalopteryx cornelia Calopterygidae
SwitzerlandJ138195110+10cCalopteryx splendens 
Albania1011196635qCalopteryx splendens  
 1012196640qCalopteryx splendens  
 1009196620qCalopteryx virgo  
North Vietnam131197740xNeurobasis chinensis 
El Salvador 1985C1.50Hetaerina smaragdalis? 
      
North Vietnam129197720xAristocypha fenestrellaChlorocyphidae
      
El Salvador198570cCora marina Polythoridae
      
Botswana553198345tChlorolestes elegans Chlorolestidae
      
Singapore49119855cCeriagrion cerinorubellumCoenagrionidae
      
El Salvador1985C1.00Mecistogaster ornataPseudostigmatidae
      

Anisozyptera
           country            cat no. year  value species 
      
Japan 198660yEpiophlebia superstes Epiophlebiidae

Anisoptera (Dragonflies)
           country            cat no. year  value species 
      
Sweden1008197960oAeshna cyanea Aeschnidae
El Salvador 198590cAeshna cornigera  
Monaco 19872.20Aeshna grandis  
Finland536195425+5mAeshna juncea  
Tuvalu218198335cAnax guttatus  
Yugoslavia168619761.20dAnax imperator  
Botswana47919816t  
 551198315t  
Great Britain1281198534p   
North KoreaN1630197715chAnax parthenope  
Montserrat5531983$1.50Triacanthagyna trifida 
      
North Vietnam127197712xSinictinogomphus clavatusGomphidae
      
Bhutan 19696nuAnotogaster sieboldii Cordulegasteridae
Japan 198760y   
El Salvador 198525cCordulegaster godmani 
      
Chad36219725fHemistigma albipunctata Libellulidae
St. Vincent (Grenadines) 198645c Brachymesia furcata 
Japan1475197750yBoninthemis insularis  
El Salvador 198555cLibellula herculea  
Lesotho36319784cNesciothemis farinosa  
Montserrat552198365cOrthemis ferruginea  
Indonesia1278197014+1.50sOrthetrum testaceum 
North Vietnam128197712xCrocothemis servilia 
Tuvalu220198350cDiplacodes bipunctata  
Montserrat551198350cErythemis vesiculosa  
St. Vincent (Grenadines) 198660c   
Montserrat5541983$2.50Erythrodiplax umbrata 
North Vietnam132197750xNeurothemis fulvia 
 130197730xNuerothemis tullia  
St. Helena38919717pSympetrum dilatatum  
North KoreaN1631197725chSympetrum pedemontanum 
Japan 198660y   
Botswana552198325tTrithemis arteriosa  
Singapore 1985$5Trithemis aurora  
St. Vincent (Grenadines) 198675c Perithemis domitia 
North Vietnam13419771d Rhyothemis fuliginosa 
 133197760xRhyothemis variegata  
Japan 198660y   
Wallis and Futuna236197445fPantala flavescens 
Pitcairn165197515c   
Botswana55019836t  
Tuvalu217198310c  
St. Vincent (Grenadines) 1986$2.50 Tramea abdominalis 
Tuvalu219198340cTholymis tillarga  

Odonate is main theme but the species is not identified

 
           country            cat no. year  value comment
     
Cameroon 198670fFossil sp., Aeshna cyanea?, and Calopteryx virgo? or Sapho sp?
Guernsey256198224pPyrrhosoma nymphula or Aeshna grandis
Mali 19775f``Libella''
Umm Al Quain 1971?1r``Aeshna verde'' - Somatochlora metallica?

Odonate is stylized or not the main theme

 
           country            cat no. year  value comment
     
Grenada (Grenadines)53019823ccartoon dragonfly
 53119824ccartoon dragonfly
Japan215-22119231/2 - 8sfirst design
 222-223192310, 20ssecond design
 1540197950yboy catching insects
 1553197950ysong ``The Birthplace''
 1580198050ysong ``Red Dragonfly''
Lebanon872196532.5pBee-eater and dragonfly
Lesotho444198125sMalachite Kingfisher and Nesciothemis
New Zealand871a19677.5cBrown Trout and damselfly
Paraguay 1974 details unknown - see Eda (1985)
Poland225319731.5zpond life
Singapore6719626cArcher Fish and dragonfly
South Africa533198215cLystrosaurus and dragonfly
Taiwan10091974$2,50fan painting
Rumania3231196440braspberries with dragonfly

Odonatists

 
countrycat no.year valuecomment
     
Belgium 198613f Baron Michel-Edmond de Selys-Longchamps
France 19872.20+0.50fJean Rostand

Notes

  • The names listed are in accordance with Davies and Tobin (1985) and may differ from those indicated on the stamps.
  • The catalogue numbers are from the Stanley Gibbons catalogue from 1985.
  • List of Odonata on stamps can be found in Smit (1978) and Stanley (1979). Eda and Machet also write articles about Odonata stamps.

    References

    Davies, D.A.L. and Tobin, P. 1984-1985
    The dragonflies of the world: a systematic list of the extant species of Odonata
    Societas Internationalis Odonatologica Rapid Communications (supplements) Nos 3 and 5

    Eda, S. 1977-1987 in Nature and Insects, Japan - various articles on dragonfly stamps

    Machet, P. 1985-1987 in Martinia, Bulletin de liason des Odonatologues de France. Bois d'Arcy

    Smit, F.G.A.M. 1978 Insects on Stamps, Tring

    Stanley, V.F. 1979 American Topical Association, Handbook No. 98, Milwaukee
    Insects and other invertebrates of the world on stamps

    Bibliography

    Odonatologica - Journal of the Societas Internationalis Odonatologica (SIO)
    Odonatological Abstracts (OA)
    • 1978 - OA 1874, OA 1980
    • 1979 - OA 2316
    • 1980 - OA 2572
    • 1982 - OA 3420
    • 1983 - OA 4139
    • 1986 - OA 5335,OA 5386
    • 1987 - OA 5606, OA 5700, OA 5775

    Martinia, Bulletin de liason des Odonatologues de France. Bois d'Arcy

    • Sep 1985 (no 1/2) pages 30-31
    • Oct 1986 (no 4) pages 27-28
    • Mar 1987 (no 5) pages 30-32

    Selysia, Newsletter of the SIO and the US national office

    • Mar 1984 vol 13 no 1 page 12
    • Mar 1985 vol 14 no 1 page 3
    • Mar 1986 vol 15 no 1 page 11

    Ron Lyons