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Flat Origami Rhinoceros Beetle

Fold a narrow kite, pleat its long section and close a compact body. A raised horn and a small hooked tip finish this flat beetle profile.

Preparation + 16 numbered steps

Materials

6-inch square · 6 × 6 inches

One 6 × 6-inch square (15.24 × 15.24 cm) of thin origami paper. Ruler and pencil for shaping marks; optional pen for an eye. No cuts or glue.

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Read all illustrated steps ↓Download PDF ↓ · one-page illustrated guide
Flat Origami Rhinoceros Beetle: a compact pleated body and a long single hooked horn
A compact pleated body and a long single hooked horn

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Preparation

The interactive guide needs JavaScript. Read every illustrated step below.

Camera only; does not change the fold.
Help · controls & diagram

Play or drag the progress slider to watch a fold from 0% to 100%. Use the view buttons or drag the diagram to look from another angle.

Blue and gold track the original halves of one sheet, not your paper colors. Darker shades show the reverse. Orange highlights moving paper and its hinge.

With the diagram focused: Space plays or pauses, ←/→ change steps, and Home resets.

Every step, at a glance

Compare your paper with each diagram after completing the action. Blue and gold track the original halves of one sheet, not your paper colors. Darker shades show the reverse. Orange highlights moving paper and its hinge.

  1. 0. Prepare the diamond
  2. 1. Crease horizontally
  3. 2. Open the first crease
  4. 3. Crease vertically
  5. 4. Open the cross creases
  6. 5. Fold the upper left slope behind
  7. 6. Fold the lower left slope behind
  8. 7. Fold the horn section across
  9. 8. Return the long point left
  10. 9. Shape the upper body edge
  11. 10. Shape the lower body edge
  12. 11. Shorten the rear point
  13. 12. Close the body
  14. 13. Raise the horn
  15. 14. Hook the horn tip
  16. 15. Turn to the display side
  17. 16. Finish the beetle profile
  1. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldPrepare the diamond

    PREPARATION · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Prepare the diamond

    Place the square with a corner pointing left and the intended beetle color facing up. The left point will become the horn.

    Layers: One uncut square.

    Check: The left and right corners line up.

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  2. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldCrease horizontally

    STEP 1 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Crease horizontally

    Bring the top corner to the bottom corner.

    Layers: Move the complete upper half.

    Check: The top and bottom points meet.

    Explore this step ↑
  3. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldOpen the first crease

    STEP 2 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Open the first crease

    Unfold completely.

    Layers: Return the same half.

    Check: The horizontal center line remains.

    Explore this step ↑
  4. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldCrease vertically

    STEP 3 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Crease vertically

    Bring the left corner to the right corner.

    Layers: Move the complete left half.

    Check: The left and right points meet.

    Explore this step ↑
  5. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldOpen the cross creases

    STEP 4 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Open the cross creases

    Unfold completely again.

    Layers: Return the same half.

    Check: Two creases cross at the original center.

    Explore this step ↑
  6. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldFold the upper left slope behind

    STEP 5 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Fold the upper left slope behind

    Fold the slope from the left point to the top point away from you onto the horizontal center crease. Keep the left point fixed.

    Layers: Move the entire upper corner flap to the back.

    Check: The old upper-left edge lies along the center behind the sheet.

    Explore this step ↑
  7. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldFold the lower left slope behind

    STEP 6 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Fold the lower left slope behind

    Repeat with the slope from the left point to the bottom point.

    Layers: Carry the complete lower corner flap behind.

    Check: A long narrow kite points left.

    Explore this step ↑
  8. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldFold the horn section across

    STEP 7 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Fold the horn section across

    Mark a vertical line 0.42 inches right of the original center. Fold all paper to its left toward you and across to the right.

    Layers: Carry the entire horn packet, including both hidden kite flaps.

    Check: The long point lies across the body.

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  9. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldReturn the long point left

    STEP 8 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Return the long point left

    Fold that packet back to the left along a vertical line 0.85 inches right of the original center.

    Layers: Move only the folded horn packet. Leave the right-hand body still.

    Check: A narrow transverse pleat separates the long horn section from the body.

    Explore this step ↑
  10. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldShape the upper body edge

    STEP 9 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Shape the upper body edge

    Fold the outer top corner away from you along a horizontal line 1.27 inches above the original center.

    Layers: Carry all layers in the narrow side packet.

    Check: The body has a short straight upper side.

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  11. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldShape the lower body edge

    STEP 10 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Shape the lower body edge

    Repeat on a horizontal line 1.27 inches below the original center.

    Layers: Carry the matching layered side packet behind.

    Check: The compact body is symmetric.

    Explore this step ↑
  12. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldShorten the rear point

    STEP 11 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Shorten the rear point

    Fold the right tip behind on a vertical line 0.85 inches left of the original right corner.

    Layers: Move all layers in the rear tip.

    Check: A short flat rear edge replaces the sharp point.

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  13. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldClose the body

    STEP 12 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Close the body

    Bring the lower half toward you and over the upper half along the horizontal center crease.

    Layers: Move every lower layer together.

    Check: The body is a doubled narrow profile with a long point on its left.

    Explore this step ↑
  14. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldRaise the horn

    STEP 13 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Raise the horn

    On the lower edge mark 0.42 inches left of the original center. From this mark draw a line slanting up-left: move 0.85 inches left for every 0.42 inches up. Fold the complete left-pointing packet toward you on that line.

    Layers: Move the complete horn packet, not just its visible top layer. Keep the compact body still.

    Check: The single horn rises above the left end of the body. This is an ordinary outside fold, not a hood fold.

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  15. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldHook the horn tip

    STEP 14 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Hook the horn tip

    Mark a point 1.91 inches left and 1.91 inches above the original center. Through it make a 45-degree crease rising to the right. Fold the little horn point toward you on that line.

    Layers: Move only the tip of the horn packet.

    Check: The end turns inward into a short hook.

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  16. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldTurn to the display side

    STEP 15 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Turn to the display side

    Turn the complete beetle over from side to side.

    Layers: Carry all folded layers together.

    Check: The body now lies to the left of the raised horn; folded edges remain visible.

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  17. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldFinish the beetle profile

    STEP 16 · Origami Club Beetle 2; flat horn-fold adaptation

    Finish the beetle profile

    Press the folds flat. You may draw one small eye at the base of the horn.

    Layers: No new fold. The model is a flat profile; it has no separate folded legs.

    Check: A compact rear body and one long hooked horn distinguish the rhinoceros beetle.

    Explore this step ↑
Sources & notes

Origami Club; Design and diagrams: Fumiaki Shingu, Origami Club: Beetle 2 (undated web diagram).

Complete Beetle 2 reference diagram ↗ · Reference model page ↗

The source explicitly credits 作・図 (design and diagrams) to Fumiaki Shingu. Traditional/public-domain status and design-reuse permission are not established. No source images, prose or code are reproduced. These English instructions, material geometry and diagrams are original; no project-wide reuse license is implied.

Adaptation: A flat-profile adaptation of the uncut Beetle 2, not the other beetle diagram that cuts its horn. We retain cross creases, reverse-side kite folds, the transverse pleat, rear outline shaping and whole-body closure. The horn is raised with one ordinary complete-packet fold rather than a hood fold; its tip uses an ordinary fold rather than an inside reverse fold. This changes the horn silhouette and leaves the packet flat, with some folded body edges visible. The final turn presents the other side instead of opening a standing stance. Exact ruler landmarks are authored choices. Optional ink is not paper; no separate legs are modeled.

Original instructions and diagrams, made with AI assistance. About & reuse

Accuracy notes

Real-paper follow-along and paper weight have not been tested. Diagrams illustrate the sequence, not paper thickness, contact, collisions or exact layer visibility. Rigid folds retain one continuous uncut square, including hidden kite layers in the body and horn. Zero-thickness teaching geometry does not certify thickness/contact or physical foldability. Real-paper folding has not been tested.