A slender, metallic-green beetle which exudes acrid yellow fluid from its joints; larvae eat honey of ground-dwelling bees; wing cases formerly collected as a source of blistering agent (cantharidin) and as a counter-irritant; more popularly (but completely spuriously), used as an aphrodisiac, where its high toxicity has led to many cases of fatal poisoning. (Order: Coleoptera. Family: Meloidae.)
For other uses, see Spanish fly (disambiguation).| iSpanish Fly | ||||||||||||||||||
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Lytta vesicatoria Linnaeus, 1758 |
The Spanish fly is an emerald-green beetle in the family Meloidae, Lytta vesicatoria.
Spanish fly, or cantharides as it is sometimes called, is often given to farm animals to incite them to mating.
In order to determine if a death had taken place by the effects of Spanish fly they had to resort to the vesicación test. Some internet or mail order suppliers of sex stimulants advertise such products like "Herbal Spanish fly", "Mexican Spanish Fly", or "Spanish Fly Potion". The products with the name "Spanische Fliege (Spanish fly)" that are available in Germany represent no danger with a normal application since they contain the active substance actually only in homeopathic dosage, diluted to effectively non-existent.
Culinary use
Dawamesk, a spread or jam made in North Africa and containing hashish, almond paste, pistachio nuts, sugar, orange or tamarind peel, cloves and other various spices, occasionally included Spanish fly.
In Morocco and other parts of North Africa, a spice blend called Ras el hanout included cantharides in its list of ingredients at one time.
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