Taiwan is a land rich with natural resources and a home to countless rare and beautiful insects. Among these are 105 species of dragonflies. To foster understanding and concern in our fellow countrymen for dragonflies, these jewels of Taiwan biology, the Directorate General of Posts has asked Dr. Lien Jih-ching of the Department of Health’s National Institute of Preventive Medicine and Mr. Yeh Wen-chi of the Council of Agriculture’s Taiwan Forestry Research Institute to plan a series of Taiwan Dragonfly stamps. The first set of four stamps and a souvenir sheet, to be released on October 11, 2000, are on the topic of river dragonflies. The stamps have been painted by Mr. Chen Yi-Ming and are being printed in color deep-etch offset by China Color Printing Co., Inc.Dragonflies are completely predatory, and their naiads require high-quality, unpolluted water. Therefore, they serve as an obvious ecological indicator to determine the health of the environment. Also, because both the young naiads and the adults prey on such pests as mosquitoes and flies, they are also good natural enemies in the prevention of noxious insects. Moreover, their colorful and beautiful appearances are a joy to behold, and also suitable as materials for nature education and scientific research.