The stamp is good for mailing large greeting cards and other non-standard shaped and sized mail, and for mailing First-Class Mail letters weighing up to 2 ounces.

“This beautiful stamp will be coveted by anyone having an interest in butterflies, both in Maryland and across the nation,” said U.S. Postal Service Stamp Services Manager Stephen Kearney. “As a customer convenience, many large greeting cards requiring the additional postage will feature a silhouette of a butterfly to suggest using the stamp.”

The stamp is now available at Post Offices nationwide, online at usps.com and by phone at 800-782-6724.

Tom Engeman of Bethany Beach, DE, created the image on a computer using images of preserved butterflies as a starting point. The result is a highly stylized, simplified image of a Baltimore Checkerspot rather than an exact replica. He worked under the art direction of Derry Noyes of Washington, DC.

The Postal Service began the line of stamps featuring butterflies with the Monarch issuance in 2010. Butterflies have previously graced many other stamps, including Prairie Ironweed, Southern Dogface Butterfly (2007), Common Buckeye Butterfly (2006) and Tiger Swallowtail (1987).

Source: United States Post

published January 28th, 2012