In May of this year, European postal administrations will publish Europa stamps with the theme of underwater fauna and flora.
The animal for the Finnish Europa stamps is the Macroplea pubipennis leaf beetle, which thrives in shallow and sheltered sea bays. The beetle, which is less than a centimeter long, can seldom be found in Finland in the area from Hamina to Oulu and on the Åland Islands.
The Europa stamp depicting flora features the Zostera marina seagrass, the only fully submerged seed plant in the Baltic Sea. The distribution of the salt-dependent plant extends to the central Gulf of Finland and the northern Bothnian Sea. The plant also provides a habitat for many other species.
“The Europa stamps feature a beetle and a plant. The gleaming water at the top of each stamp emphasizes the fact that the species live underwater. The shape of the upper part of the stamps depicts a wave, and the uneven stamp separation creates an image of air bubbles rising to the surface,” say Susanna Rumpu and Ari Lakaniemi, the stamp’s designers.
The Europa – Underwater Fauna and Flora stamp sheet’s ten stamps contain two different domestic no-value indicator stamp designs.
