# 3351i - 1999 33c Insects and Spiders: Velvet Ant

Issue Date: October 1, 1999
City: Indianapolis, IN
Quantity: 4,235,000
Printed By: Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd
Printing Method: Lithographed
Perforations: 11
Color:  Multicolored

 

There are millions of insects for every single person living on the Earth today – and that figure doesn’t include the 30,000 known species of spiders.

 

Insects have six legs, three-sectioned bodies, and most have wings and antennae. Scientists discover 7,000 to 10,000 new kinds of insect each year. Insects are fascinating.  Some can taste with their feet and others smell using their antennae. In fact, experts believe there are at least one million insects yet to be discovered!

 

Spiders are arachnids. All spiders have eight legs, two-sectioned bodies, fangs, and most have poison glands. They spin silk, but not all spiders make webs.

 

Both insects and spiders thrive in nearly every habitat on the planet. They can be found in humid, tropical jungles, frigid mountain tops, deserts, and caves. The only place an abundance of insects cannot be found is in the water. However, there are spiders that live underwater for most of their lives!

 

Artist Steve Buchanan created the four spider and 16 insect illustrations featured on the stamps. The stamps represent the huge variety of insect and spider life – their colors, lifestyles, and behaviors. Additional consideration was given to each bug’s educational value, as well as its appeal to children.