Thanks to some great work from our friends at the Australian Citizen Science Association (https://citizenscience.org.au/), Australia Post has honoured our project with a stamp issue! Our stamp has been released along with stamps for three other great citizen science projects as part of a special issue celebrating citizen science in Australia. The other projects included are the fun biodiversity identification app Questagame, the disease tracking project Zika Mozzie Seeker, and a collaboration between indigenous people and scientists, Ngukurr Wi Stadi Bla Kantri (We Study the Country).

Our stamp features a Spotted Jezabel (Delias aganippe), also called the Wood White in some parts of the country. We chose this species as it is a species that is endemic to the country (only found in Australia), and is both widespread across the country and charismatically coloured. They are arid-adapted, meaning they can live in some of the driest parts of the continent, which we figure makes them a great representative of Australian butterflies! The design also incorporates elements of our logo (the network nodes and lines) connecting the butterfly to a computer, representing the technological component of the project.

This is a great opportunity to get the word out about our project to Australians, and promote the importance of people getting involved in activities like this that get people closer to nature, but also contribute to research, conservation, and raising the profile of insects in the community.

The stamps are now launched, so if you’re a collector, or just want to own a set of snazzy red stamps with butterflies on them, you can head to https://auspost.com.au/shop/collectables/stamp-issues/citizen-science to pick some up.