Do you know that there is a practice of using Spanish fly with farm animals to encourage them to mate?
You undoubtedly know that it has a reputation for being one of the world's most well-known aphrodisiacs. Hello there my little magical fly.
Photo Credit: It's the notorious green blister beetle spotted in Wikimedia Commons.
What the heck is it?
This is a picture of the green blister beetle, Lytta Vesicatoria of the family Meloidae. This beetle contains at the most 5% cantharidin or Spanish fly which is a yellowish-brown or a brownish-olive in color. As the wings of the beetle have an iridescent quality, so does the crushed powder. It’s also a bit stinky and tastes bitter.
Did you know this?
It is not legal in the United States except for use ...
What is an unusual use is for the treatment of warts as a topical agent and only to be administered by a licensed physician.
Be wary of what you might find advertised on the internet as Herbal or Mexican Spanish Fly or Spanish Fly Potion!
Would you believe that these products are probably straight cayenne pepper or a mixture of cayenne pepper along with ginger, ginseng, gotu kola or kelp.
Germany has a Spanish Fly product, Spanische Fliege, which contains a diluted amount of the product normally contained in the homeopathic dosage.
A close-up view of dead green blister beetles used to produce this magical potion! This rather clinical view of green blister beetles dead in a jar was taken in a Turku Pharmacy Museum by mararie.
It has applications in food and cooking? Really? In North Africa, there is a jam called Dawamesk which blends sometimes Spanish Fly along with almond paste, cloves, pistachio nuts, orange peel, sugar, and hashish! On our Spanish Flee vacation we almost made it to North Africa … not sure I would have tried this though!
In Morocco, at one time you could get Ras el hanout, a blend of spices and cantharides. In the 1990s, it was banned for sale in the Moroccan spice markets.
Scientific Classification
Of the Species Lytta Vesicatoria ...Kingdom: Animalia; Phylum: Arthropoda; Class: Insecta; Order: Coleoptera
Family: Meloidae; Subfamily: Meloinae; Tribe: Lyttini; Genus: Lytta; Species: L. vesicatoria
Historical Uses
You might not have known this!
- Hippocrates: To raise blisters by using the beetle wings to make a plaster.
- Ancient China: To make a stink bomb using Cantharides beetles and human excrement, arsenic and wolfsbane! Also, as an aphrodisiac.
- Romans: Augustus Caesar’s wife Livia put it into her guests’ food, hoping to blackmail them later for their indiscretions!
- Henry IV: Used it!
- Ambroise Paré: A French surgeon who reported in 1572, a man who consumed cantharides and nettles was suffering from satyriasis.
- La Voisin: A black magician in the 1670s, created a love charm by mixing it with dried blood from moles and bats. This love charm was used on
Louis XIV to “endear” him to Madame de Montespan. - 18th Century: In France, it had become the fashion with Marquis de Sade supposedly giving Spanish fly pastilles to prostitutes at an orgy — undoubtedly the inspiration for those renowned stories we’ve heard!
More Spanish Fly References
Spanish Fly -- 1987 Album - A 1987 album by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam.
Spanish Fly -- 2003 Film - A 2003 American film, set in a Los Angeles night club, about the use of an aphrodisiac!
Spanish Fly -- Van Halen Song - It is actually a Van Halen classical guitar solo!
Spanish Fly -- A Wrestler's Move - It is a variation of the wrestler's moonsault side slam!
History: Spanish Fly : What the Heck is it? was originally created on Squidoo by JaguarJulie on April 18, 2009. Highest lensrank ever achieved: #4,972 overall. Lens #415 in the quest for Giant Squid 500 Club.
