A set of 5 stamps depicting the Maltese honey bee is to be issued by MaltaPost – Apiculture in Malta. The photography is by Abner Joe Buttigieg and Paul Portelli.

Apiculture, or as it is commonly known, bee-keeping, is the breeding and keeping of bee colonies in man-made hives, in order to collect their honey and other products and is one of the oldest traditions in Gozo and Malta.

The Maltese Islands have their own indigenous honey bee, which, after centuries of breeding and colonisation, has adapted well to the local climate and environment.

One biological feature of the Maltese bee, which is small and relatively dark in colour, is that it lays eggs throughout all the seasons.

The stamps will be issued in a sheet of ten, with each stamp measuring 35mm x 35mm, with a comb perforation of 13.75 x 13.75 and bearing the Maltese Cross watermark.

The sheets measure 204mm x 134mm and were produced by Printex Ltd in the offset process. The issue consists of 1,000,000 stamps with a face value of €0.30 each stamp.

They will be available from Friday, the 22nd of November from all Post Offices in Malta and Gozo.

Orders may be placed online at www.maltaphilately.com or by mail from the Philatelic Bureau, MaltaPost p.l.c. 305, Triq Hal Qormi, Marsa, MTP 1001; Telephone: 2596 1740, e-mail: info@maltaphilately.com

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