There's something about a stag beetle that just screams summer vacation. Big mandibles, shiny shell, the kind of bug every kid wants to show off. The problem is most origami versions are brutal — tiny legs that snap and steps no first-grader could follow. This one is different. It uses a single sheet, a few clean squash-folds, and skips the impossible legs entirely, so the result is still cool but actually finishable. Pour a coffee, grab a square of black paper, and let's fold a beetle you'll be proud to leave on the shelf.

Summer vacation and the kids! Among all the backyard bugs, the stag beetle is a classic favorite.

If you're a boy, you probably love them — though city kids may not get to see one very often.

I tried folding beetles and stag beetles from origami paper many times, but every version I found was far too hard for my elementary-school son (●△`).

The hard part was those tiny, thin legs! I wanted a cool, simple stag beetle with no fiddly legs — something he could actually finish (￣▽￣|||).

So I went hunting for an easy origami stag beetle — and I found one!

Fold it from a single sheet of origami paper. No scissors needed, and no breaking off little legs!

Even a younger elementary student can manage it, so I taught it to my son right away.

This time I'll show you how to fold a simple origami stag beetle. (The rhinoceros beetle version is still in the works.)

How to fold an origami stag beetle ♪

I debated the paper color and finally went with black.

I considered brown with sawtooth edges, but a stag beetle should look like a stag beetle, right?

Because the creases got hard to see, I also included close-up photos (-_☆).

If a step is still unclear, just click a photo to enlarge it.

Prepare one sheet of origami paper.

Fold it in half to make a square.

Make a crease across the square as shown.

Open it back up once.

Fold one edge to the center crease.

Lift the folded flap;

bring the paper edge outward, open it up and squash-fold it flat.

Open and squash the other side the same way to form a house-roof shape.

Fold both ends of the roof upward.

Fold the slanted ends inward to align with the center line.

Fold the tip of the triangle outward.

Fold both ends inward to align with the center line.

Turn it over.

Fold the bottom up to the middle.

Fold only the inner corner back inward (a single layer).

Here's a close-up of that step.

Fold the top half down.

Fold it back up, leaving a little. The crease forms a "Z" shape.

Here's a close-up of that step too.

Fold the protruding jaw (mandible) part inward.

Done!

Well done ♪

How did it go? Did you make one? Once the legs get involved it becomes much harder, so let's skip them in this version!

Fold the initial square section neatly and your "scissors" (mandibles) will come out nice and clean.

Next time I'll introduce the rhinoceros beetle too — stay tuned!