Stamp Stories from around the world

Todays stamp from Panama shows the beautiful butterfly Caligo illioneus. It is also called the Illioneus giant owl. It is an owl butterfly belonging to the nymphalid family, Morphinae. The genus Latin name Caligo means “darkness” and may refer to the active periods, as these butterflies preferentially fly in dusk. The specific name illioneus derives from Ilionesus, a Trojan companion of Aeneas in Virgil’s Aeneid.