Le Marquis

The Spanishfly (known as Lytta vesicatoria to entomologists) has been thought to be an aphrodisiac for hundreds of years. In fact, it can be highly toxic, even deadly. The beetle—it’s not really a fly— emits a poisonous defensive secretion known as cantharidin, which will raise blisters if you touch it. When it’s ground to a powder and ingested, it can cause delirium, convulsions, vomiting, extreme gastrointestinal upset, and death.

In 1772 the infamous Marquis de Sade treated anise-flavored candies with pulverized Spanishfly powder and offered the candy to several women, in hopes of inflaming their desire. Instead he severely poisoned them. Although the women managed to survive, the marquis was arrested and imprisoned for ten years.

Cantharidin remained a popular medicine in this country well into the nineteenth century, used to treat bladder problems, earache, lethargy, and a host of other ailments.

L. vesicatoria, picture by Gyorgy Csoka, Hungary Forest Research Institute, Bugwood.org

(Much of this information comes from one of my favorite insect books ever, Bugs in the System, by May Berenbaum.)