- Spanish fly
Taxobox
name = Spanish Fly
image_width = 230px
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Arthropod a
classis =Insect a
ordo = Coleoptera
familia =Meloidae
subfamilia =Meloinae
tribus =Lyttini
genus = "Lytta "
species = "L. vesicatoria"
binomial = "Lytta vesicatoria"
binomial_authority = Linnaeus, 1758The Spanish fly is an emerald-green
beetle in the familyMeloidae , "Lytta vesicatoria". [From Greek "lytta", rage and Latin "vesica", blister.] [Other species ofblister beetle used inapothecary are often called by the same name. "Lytta vesicatoria" is sometimes called "Cantharis vesicatoria", but thegenus "Cantharis" is in an unrelated family,Cantharidae .] It is 15mm to 22mm long and 5mm to 8mm wide, and lives on plants in the familiesCaprifoliaceae andOleaceae . The beetle contains up to 5%cantharidin which irritates animal tissues. The crushed powder of Spanish fly is of yellowish brown to brown-olive color with iridescent reflections, of disagreeable scent and bitter flavor.Spanish fly, or cantharides as it is sometimes called, is often given to farm animals to incite them to mate.Harv|Gottlieb|1992|p=68] The cantharides excreted in the urine irritate the urethral passages, causing
inflammation in the genitals and subsequentpriapism . For this reason, Spanish fly has been given to humans for purposes of seduction. It is dangerous since the amount required is minuscule and the difference between theeffective dose and the harmful dose is quite narrow. Cantharides cause painful urination, fever, and sometimes bloody discharge. They can cause permanent damage to thekidney s and genitals.History
Its medical use dates back to descriptions from
Hippocrates .Plaster s made from wings of these beetles have been used to raiseblister s. Inancient China , cantharides beetles were mixed with human excrement,arsenic and wolfsbane to make the world's first recordedstink bomb .Harv|Theroux|1989|p=54] It is also one of the world’s most well-knownaphrodisiacs . In Roman times,Livia , the scheming wife of Augustus Caesar, would slip it into food hoping to inspire her guests to some indiscretion with which she could later blackmail them. [cite book | title = Ancient Inventions | first = Peter | last = James | publisher = Ballantine Books | isbn = 0345401026 | year = 1995 | pages= p. 177] Henry IV (1050-1106) is known to have consumed Spanish fly at the risk of his health. In 1572, the famous French surgeonAmbroise Paré wrote an account of a man suffering from "the most frightful satyriasis" after having taken a potion composed ofnettle s and cantharides.Harv|Milsten|2000|p=170] In the 1670s, Spanish fly was mixed with dried moles and bat's blood for a love charm made by the black magicianLa Voisin .Harv|Cavendish|1968|p=333] It was slipped into the food ofLouis XIV to secure the king's lust forMadame de Montespan . In the 18th century cantharides became fashionable, known as "pastilles Richelieu" in France.Marquis de Sade is claimed to have givenaniseed -flavored pastilles that were laced with Spanish fly to prostitutes at an orgy in 1772. He was sentenced to death for poisoning and sodomy, but later reprieved on appeal.Also it was used as an
abortifacient , stimulant (since one of its effects was producinginsomnia and nervous agitation), and as a poison; in powder, mixed with the food, it could go unnoticed. "Aqua toffana", or "aquetta di Napoli", was one of the poisons associated with theMedicis . Thought to be a mixture of arsenic and cantharides, it was reportedly created by an Italian countess, Toffana. Four to six drops of this poison in water or wine was enough to deliver a painless death in a few hours.Harv|Stevens|1990|p=6]In order to determine if a death had taken place by the effects of Spanish fly they had to resort to the "vesicación" test. One of those test methods consisted of rubbing part of the internal organs of the deceased, dissolved in oil, on the shaved skin of a rabbit; the absorption of the cantharides and its blistering effect are such that they became visible on the skin of the rabbit.
In
Santeria , catharides are used inincense .Harv|Gonzalez-Wippler|2002|p=221]Commercial products
Cantharides are illegal in the United States, except for use in
animal husbandry and by licensed physicians for the topical treatment of certain types ofwart s. Some internet or mail order suppliers of sex stimulants advertise such products like "Herbal Spanish fly", "Mexican Spanish Fly", or "Spanish Fly Potion". Most of these products are simplycayenne pepper in capsules, sometimes blended with the powder ofginseng ,kelp ,ginger orgotu kola .Harv|Gottlieb|1992|p=19] 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 inhomeopathic dosage, diluted to be effectively non-existent.Culinary use
"Dawamesk", a spread or jam made in
North Africa and containinghashish , almond paste, pistachio nuts, sugar, orange ortamarind peel,clove s 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. However, the sale of Spanish fly in the Moroccan spice markets was banned in the 1990s.Notes
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