5 euro color print coin 2024 "Hirschkäfer"

The coin motif, designed by the artist Detlef Behr from Cologne, shows an ideal male stag beetle in the style of a precise scientific illustration, in which all morphological details are correctly worked out. The typical black-brown coloring shows the beetle and its characteristic feature, the enlarged upper jaw (Mandibles), effectively emphasized. Idealized oak leaves and acorns in the background provide a subtle reference to the beetle's habitat and allude to the great importance of oak trees for the development of the larvae. The sans-serif lettering on the left edge of the coin forms a part of the composition balanced counterweight to the motif. The value side is identical for all coins in the series. The design, designed by artist Andre Witting from Berlin, impresses with a dignified yet dynamic representation of the federal eagle.

It is extremely rare and is therefore particularly protected. The eighth motif in the “Wonder World of Insects” series is dedicated to it.

The originally forest-dwelling stag beetle is one of the most conspicuous beetle species in Europe; most people know it at least from hearsay. It can sometimes be seen flying through gardens and parks in summer, which is a special spectacle due to its size. It gets its name from its enlarged upper jaw in males, which looks like antlers. The males use it to fight with each other. If two males who are ready to mate meet in a tree, they try to throw the “opponent” down or turn them onto their backs.

The stag beetle's main food source is tree resin. The females use their powerful jaws to tear small pieces out of the tree bark to get to the resin. Since the males are unable to do this due to their large upper jaws, the females use such feeding places to attract males. The stag beetle larvae remain underground for up to eight years and can grow up to 10 cm in size. In order for their gametes to mature, females and males need tree sap that contains certain fungi. This is often lacking in modern forests. The improved protection of natural habitats is helping to ensure that the stag beetle, insect of the year 2012, is slowly becoming more common again.