Impurest's Guide to Animals #177 - Spanish Fly

A quiet May has come and gone, and June is now here. Last week we addressed the askew cute karma balance by bringing in an adorable Pudu.

Going from enjoyable to macabre we have to address the mass murder of the reindeer on the Norwegian tundra. The answer to the question was B, lightning strikes sent a deadly ground charge through the earth and arched up the reindeer’s legs and into their hearts, stopping them simultaneously. The ground charge was less dangerous for the carrion birds and the human investigators, because the electricity was able to travel harmlessly down the other leg without going through the heart or lungs.

Additionally while seemingly improbable, F, which states that an outbreak caused by anthrax spores from a defrosted reindeer corpse did indeed occur in 2004 in the wastes of Siberia, and claimed the lives of twenty people in a nearby town.

This week we have an acidic blooded beasty with an exoskeleton. Hope you guys enjoy!!

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Issue #177 - Spanish Fly

Kingdom – Animalia

Phylum – Arthtopoda

Class – Insecta

Order – Coleoptera

Family – Meloidae

Genus – Lytta

Species – vesicatoria

Related Species - Despite what its colloquial name suggests, the Spanish Fly is actually a member of the Blister Beetle family.

Range

Spanish Fly Beetles are found throughout Southern Europe and North Africa, as well as parts of Asia.

Blister Treatment Required

Spanish Flies are bright metallic green beetle which have a body length of 2cm long. The species gets its Latin name from the word vesica which translates to blister in reference to the symptoms of the beetles defensive secretions. Like most beetles, the Spanish Fly navigates through a combination of its four eyes and the chemical and scent cues it picks up with its antennae. While the species rarely flies, it possess wings and is a strong flyer when required to move, either to search for food or mates.

Adult Spanish Flies are herbivores, chewing on plant matter and drinking nectar from flowers. When under attack male beetles release a chemical formed from acidic compounds in the insect’s blood that causes blistering on skin contact, and can cause death if ingested. Females are unable to produce this compound, and instead get it as a nuptial gift from the males she mates with (2). This chemical defence is passed onto the shells of the eggs she lays on the ground to prevent ants and other insect predators from eating them.

The first instar of the Spanish Fly larva is known as a triungulin, which heads up the nearest flower and waits for a solitary bee to come along. Grabbing the bee, the triungulin is carried back to the bee’s nest where the larvae moults and resembles a more traditional beetle grub. While ensconced in the bees nest, the larval beetle will feed on the stockpiled food resources the bee has brought back to feed its own young, and when these are exhausted the beetle grub eats the bee larva and pupates into a cocoon, before emerging next spring as an adult beetle.

Terrors of Toxicology #7 - Cantharidin

An ancient aphrodisiac, extract of Spanish Fly has gained somewhat of a notorious reputation due to the toxic effect on the human body. As such it was seen as a chemical associated with assassins and alchemists. The active toxin is Cantharidin, a colourless substance with a bitter taste produced from the blood of the insect, and oozed through the joints of the legs. The initial effects of taking Spanish Fly resemble that of male arousal, and it is perhaps that fact, that is responsible for the chemicals classification as an aphrodisiac when taken orally. In addition, the blistering effect of the chemical when properly prepared can be used to remove warts, it is just that most who attempt to use this chemical have no experience in administrating it.

After the initial stages, Cantharidin attacks the digestive system and denatures the enzyme Protein Phosphatase 2, a chemical used to export genetic material to begin new cell synthesis. From there it causes excessive irritation in the bowels, internal bleeding and can escalate to the bleeding of the mucus membranes on cells throughout the body, until the toxin is denatured or the bodies organs shut down (3). Ingestion always results in deadly side effects, and is incredibly toxic in horses (Equus ferus) which accidently eat beetles that are hiding in hay and alfalfa provided to them. While less severe, exposure of Cantharidin to the skin causes painful (and sometimes) blisters to form across the exposed epidermis.

While surpassed in toxicity be many other toxins, Cantharidin has left its mark throughout history in the hands of kings and commoners alike (4). Spanish Fly was used by the wife of Augustus Caesar to influence her guests to commit sexual indiscretions for the purpose of blackmail, while the Marquis de Sade used pasties laced with the chemical to kill two prostitutes he had been in an orgy with to name just a few (in)famous users. While largely relegated to an obscure aphrodisiac these days, Spanish Fly is a deadly gamble to any who take it, especially since it is hard to dilute in water or food.

Bibliography

1 -www.arkive.org

2 - Boggs, Carol L. (1995). Leather, S. R.; Hardie, J., eds. Male Nuptial Gifts: Phenotypic Consequences and Evolutionary Implications (PDF). CRC Press. pp. 215–242.

3 - Schmitz, David G. (2013). "Overview of Cantharidin Poisoning (Blister Beetle Poisoning)". In Aiello, Susan E.; Moses, Michael A. The Merck Veterinary Manual. Kenilworth, NJ, USA: Merck Sharp & Dohme

4 - https://earlymodernmedicine.com/crime-sex-and-the-spanish-fly/

Picture References

1 - http://open-up.eu/files/styles/large/public/eol_0.jpg

2 - http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/CR536/images/fig10.jpg

3 - http://science-explained.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Spaanse-vlieg-e1443725539688.jpg

4 - http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/medical/blister_beetles18.jpg

Talk about a toxic threat, it’s almost like this little creature is a micro xenomorph in disguise. Next week we a compressed request from @gunmetalgrey. Until then though make sure to critic, comment and suggest future issues as well as making sure you check out past issues in Impurest’s Bestiary.

Many Thanks

Impurest Cheese

Want more IGTA? For more toxic trouble, click here to see the creepy Koppie Foam Grasshopper. Or for another badass beetle click here to see the primeval Trilobite Beetle.

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Acid for Blood?

Wow really in-depth and a free history lesson, wasn't aware ceasrs wife used that good job

This explains trump's wall.

Anyways can't wait to read this impurest. I'm kind of busy with school garbage and other stuff on CV so I'll be back later.

@destinyman75: Thanks, this beetle has an infamous reputation, it was nice to show just a little bit of that.

@jaycool2: Okay cool, hope you enjoy

Acid for Blood?

damn, and i already used the Xenomorph joke the other week

@amazing_webhead: Carboxylic Acid to be exact. Thanks for the comment

you're welcome :) hope all's going well

Need me some Spanish Flies

Finally i can talk about my culture with actual spanish insects

@amazing_webhead: Yeah it's fine on a Bat Survey at the moment at a deserted summer camp

@quinnofthestoneage: Oh dear lordi, not sure wht you'd need them?

@solid_snake97: That lonley huh?

Sounds like the set up to a Scooby-Doo episode

@captainmarvel4ever: It'll go well with the ruined castle, derelict hospital and dismsntled airfield I've surveyed over the last few years

@impurestcheese: Man you just gets cooler and cooler

Gonna need to start calling you peanut butter, cuz I'm jelly

@captainmarvel4ever: It's the job I have. Thanks BTW ?

@impurestcheese: No prob, it's all true PB (heck TBH sometimes I'm afraid to comment or message because I'm kinda intimidated)

Also that stuff about using the beetle to incite sexual misconduct and for assassination reminded me of a book I've been reading

It's about the use of arthropods in warfare throughout history. It's a very engaging read if you ever have the time.

Weeeellllll, these are nasty little critters no matter how they're used.

Well, I was right about the reindeer...mostly. I'd have liked to have been MORE right, but I was wrong about how Anthrax is spread. Seems I should have done more than a cursory examination. Actually, I'd have come to the same conclusion even given this information, but fact is I was wrong about that Anthrax. Dangit.

It looks like a cucumber.

@captainmarvel4ever: You shouldn't feel intimidated by me. Most days I feel inferior to the majority of people here, especially on the Fan-Fic board.

@heroup2112: Anthrax is the least of our worries, I'm mote concerned with the Smallpox and Spanish Influenza frozen in the tundra. Far worse then any blister beetle

@ig-88: Whatever you do don't eat it

Fly guts. That's hot :P

Good read honey ^0^

@bella_blackstar: Not to mention that delicious beetle juice. Thanks for the comment.

@impurestcheese: I know, but it's really more my own issues. That and I have a bit of trouble finding time for things in the day between work, and taking care of roommate.

Still, any time you give me is always appreciated. And defiantly don't feel inferior, just the other day in one of the PMs I'm part of, me and a group of others were talking about how cool you are.

cool. have fun with that.

or maybe a Friday the 13th sequel

@captainmarvel4ever: No problem and once again thank you

@amazing_webhead: I really hope not...

@impurestcheese: relax, Jason is still trapped in Development Hell and won't be getting out any time soon

@amazing_webhead: Phew thank the Goddess for small mercies

Mmm.. That iridescent green shell..

Looks like the type of insect that would look awesome under super magnification.

Noice.

@gunmetalgrey: That's to remind predators not to eat it, and yes they are (looked at another species of Lytta under a lens before)

Nasty.I hate bugs.

@wollfmyth209: Cool thanks :-)

@galactic_1000: Well this will be fine since its a beetle not a bug

Oh my gods, I got it right! Thor is a reindeer murderer! :O

I had no idea the Marquis de Sade was such an entomologist. Interesting.

@black_wreath: Hence why Hela, she of the antlered headdress, is trying to kill him in Thor Ragnarok.

Insects especially beetles were a curiosity of the rich and powerful in the not to distant past, not so surprising really

Heck yeah!

Though I'm old enough now to know it's best to leave them alone, beetles used to be one of the few types of insects I actually had fun physically interacting with as a kid. Really, the only ones that still freak me out are those that just move too dang fast..

@gunmetalgrey: I still love catching them, but yes better to watch than try and catch. Especially if its one of those Tiger Beetles that run at a meter per second.

I'm amazed how humanity somehow manages to suss out ways to derive virility from plants and animals. I think the sheen on this animal is gorgeous, too.

@ms-lola: It's a false virility though. You are right on the sheen, the iridescence is amazing

@impurestcheese: Humanity can be ridiculous at times.

@ms-lola: Yes they can be.

@impurestcheese: I have to admit- I thought this was just a song. I had no idea that it was an actual insect.

@ficopedia: Yep quite real, and quite toxic. Thanks for the comment