Detail

`In line with the Ministry of Information and Communication`s plan to phase in new definitive stamps to replace those that have been in use for some time, the 40-won definitive stamp showing a `Korean pine tree,` which was first issued on May 24, 1993, is being replaced by one displaying an insect called `Purpuricenus lituratus.` In korean, Purpuricenus lituratus is the `Moja Juhong Hanulso` or `Mojamuni Juhong Hanulso` (hat-patterned purple long-horned beeble) because it has a black hat-shaped mark on the lower middle side of its hardened forewings. This beetle belongs to the family Cerambycidae (order Coleoptera) and ranges in size from 17 to 23 mm. Its corselet and forewings boast a strikingly beautiful reddish-yellow color. Adults emerge from May to mid-June and are usually found on a variety of flowers or in the leaves of oak trees. The insect is native to Korea, Japan, Manchuria, andSiberia. Imagine this teeny-tiny little insect, brilliant purple in color, perched on a pure-white envelope, and greet the coming of summer with this cute and adorable beetle stamp!`