California Dogface 2019 $1.27 Stamps — Non-Machineable Surcharge (Not a Forever Stamp)

Please note: this is a denominated non-machineable surcharge stamp, not a Forever Stamp. Use it on square, rigid or irregular envelopes that cannot be machine-processed.

Issue facts

Issue Date: January 27, 2019
First Day City: Kansas City, MO
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Offset, Microprint
Format: Pane of 20

A butterfly with a very small range

Most North American butterflies are found across wide territories. The California dogface is not: it lives only in Central and Southern California, which is why the state named it its official insect in 1972.

It is usually found in wooded parts of the Santa Ana Mountains, and it is particular about where it lives. Adults feed mainly on nectar from purple flowers, thistles especially. Eggs go only onto false indigo, and the caterpillars feed on that plant until they pupate.

The name

Males have yellow-orange forewings marked with black in a pattern that reads unmistakably as a dog's head in profile. Females skip the trick entirely — plain yellow with a single dark spot on each forewing.

Why photographs are rare

Nature photographers want this species and mostly do not get it. The dogface flies exceptionally fast and rarely holds still with its wings open. The reliable moment is while it is drinking nectar, which is brief.

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