#cantharidin

[dailybugfacts]

Idk of its cool to suggest things? Love ur blog fills me with joy. Also dunno if you've mentioned this b4 but I thought of a cool bug fact of! You should talk abt how we can make skin medicines from blister beetles!! (The stuff they shoot out to defend themselves i mean) Its really cool, leaves no scarring!! Gets rid of warts and other skin ailments its rlly cool!! Hope ur having an awesome day! Many blessings ur way ❤️💖❤️💕

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TODAY'S FACT IS

Did you know that the Spanish Fly (Lytta vesicatoria) isn't even a fly? This emerald green blister beetle is known for its blistering agent, cantharidin. Clever people were able to take this dangerous substance and use it in exfoliants, aphrodisiacs, and spices. While these uses are plausible and confirmed, they aren't recommended for most situations due to the volatility in toxicity of the substance.

The beetles use this substance for self-defense and to protect their eggs. They can leak it out over their joints or spit it out at potential predators. They also spit it onto their eggs to keep things from eating them.

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Photo by Gaell Mainguy

[hidemoriyazaki]

Our paper has been published, Open Access. 主著論文が出版されました、Open Accessです。

We have discovered a biological interaction, wherein birds prey upon insects containing the toxin cantharidin, and other insects that favour cantharidin gather in the droppings. We have successfully replicated this process experimentally. カンタリジンという毒を体内に持つ昆虫を鳥が捕食し、その後に排泄された糞に、カンタリジンを好む別の昆虫が集まる、という生物間相互作用を野外で発見し、実験的に再現することに成功しました。 

Yazaki, H., Hashimoto, K., Sato, N. and Hayashi, F. (2025) Cantharidin world on bird droppings: Reused cantharidin after bird predation of cantharidin‐producing insects. Entomological Science, e12612.

Cantharidin world on bird droppings: Reused cantharidin after bird predation of cantharidin‐producing insects

Cantharidin is produced only by beetles of Meloidae and Oedemeridae families and is a rare resource for canthariphilous insects that ingest

ツチハンミョウ科とカミキリモドキ科の甲虫だけが生産するカンタリジンを巡っては、節足動物を中心とする多彩な生物間相互作用が知られ、「カンタリジン・ワールド」と呼ばれます。

リンク先の日本語総説では、その広がりがわかりやすくまとめられています(橋本 2018)。

J-STAGE

今回の研究は、共同研究者の佐藤さんが青森県で撮影した写真から始まりました(論文Fig.1A)。鳥の糞にアカハネムシ科とアリモドキ科の昆虫が集まっています。これらはカンタリジンを好んで摂食することが知られている昆虫であり、普通は鳥の糞に集まることはありません。さらに滋賀県では多数のアリモドキ科が鳥と思われる糞上で見つかり(論文Fig.1B, 写真協力: 塚田睦夫さん)、その糞の中からカンタリジンを体内に持つヒメツチハンミョウの触角の一部が見つかりました(論文Fig.1C)。つまりカンタリジンを持つ昆虫が鳥に捕食され、その糞にカンタリジンを好む昆虫が集まった、という背景が推察できます。私たちの知る限りでは、このように鳥の糞にカンタリジンを好む昆虫が集まる現象は、野外で実際に観察されたことはなく、今回が初めての確認となります。さらに私たちは今回、この現象のプロセスを実験的に再現することを試みました。

まず飼育下のウズラに、①カンタリジンを持つ甲虫＋雑穀餌、②カンタリジンを持たない甲虫＋雑穀餌、③雑穀餌のみ、を与え、それぞれの糞を誘引源とする吊り下げ式のトラップを林の中に設置しました(論文Fig.1D, ウズラはカンタリジンを持つ甲虫を摂食しても、その健康状態に影響は見られませんでした)。トラップに集まった昆虫を調べたところ、①カンタリジンを持つ甲虫＋雑穀餌を食べさせたウズラの糞にだけ、カンタリジンを好む昆虫(アカハネムシ科・アリモドキ科・ヌカカ科)が誘引され、またこれらは他のウズラの糞には全く誘引されませんでした(論文Fig.2)。このように、カンタリジンを持つ昆虫を鳥が捕食した後、排泄された糞にカンタリジンを好む別の昆虫が集まって利用することで、カンタリジンの物質循環と生物間相互作用が、節足動物だけでなく鳥のような脊椎動物も関与しながら環境中で続いていくことが、実験によっても確認されました。

有毒なカンタリジンを持つ昆虫を鳥が捕食するのは、毒性を未学習の場合、耐性を持つ場合などが考えられます。一部の鳥(ノガン)ではカンタリジンを持つツチハンミョウ科を捕食し、寄生虫の「駆虫剤」として利用している可能性も指摘されています(Bravo et al. 2014)。またカンタリジンを好む昆虫は、林内の高所にも生息します(Horiuchi et al. 2018)。一方、ツチハンミョウ科は飛翔できない種も多いことから、今回の発見は、飛翔可能な鳥類によってカンタリジンが垂直方向に運搬され、広範囲に循環する可能性を示唆すると考えています。

最後に個人的な話ですが、幼少時に親しんだ『ファーブル昆虫記』で最も好きだったのが、カンタリジンを持つツチハンミョウ科各種の驚くべき生活史の話でした。そんな歴史あるカンタリジンの研究の一端に関われたことを嬉しく思います。共同研究者・協力者の皆様に、改めて御礼申し上げます。

[animal-lover94]

Violet Oil Beetle

Meloe violaceus

Countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Austria, Balearic Islands, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Corsica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish, Sweden, Switzerland, Tibet, Turkey, Ukraine

Interesting facts: 🔔 The bug's defensive secretion contains cantharidin.

🔔 They are 10 to 30 mm long.

🔔 One female lays up to 10,000 eggs.

[animal-lover94]

Spanish Fly

Lytta vesicatoria

🔔 The bug's defensive secretion, cantharidin, has been used as an "aphrodisiac" since ancient times. If the cantharidin cames in contact with skin it causes painful blisters. It is as powerful as cyanide and has no antidote so accidentally consuming the beetle can cause death.

[absolutegravityman]

Reposted from @molecule_of_the_day (@get_regrann) - Cantharidin is an odourless, oily liquid secreted by blister beetles. It is a burn 🔥 agent and can cause severe chemical burns if exposed to skin. Properly dosed and applied, however, the same properties have also been used therapeutically, especially for the highly effective 👍 and painless treatment of skin infections and warts. Interestingly, in its natural form, cantharidin is secreted by the male blister beetle and given to the female as a copulatory gift during mating. Thanks 🙏 anonymous for the suggestion! The molecular structure was created using ChemDoodle. Be sure to follow them at @ichemlabs! #cantharidin #beetle #blisterbeetle #burn #chemicalburn #blisteragent #nature #insect #therapeutic #skin #skincare #wellness #body #photooftheday #chemistry #art #molecule - #regrann (en Urb Los Ficus - Santa Anita) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3V2XwwliPb/?igshid=xncgy9zcqmxj

[percygermany]

Meloe proscarabaeus

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[sonyoestavillo]

Molluscum Contagiosum: Most Common Toddlers & Kids Skin Condition

Molluscum Contagiosum: Most Common Toddlers & Kids Skin Condition

When our daughter was 8-months we noticed tiny little bumps on her legs. At first, we thought it was a little rash and it would go away. Our pediatrician even thought so and gave us steroid cream. But, when it didn’t go away, we ended up getting referred to a dermatologist. (more…)

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[bugbabeofficial]

American Oil Beetle (Meloe americanus)

I was SO EXCITED to find a bug last night that I have NEVER seen or heard of before! This crazy looking insect is a female American Oil Beetle (Meloe americanus) and it happens to be INSANELY INTERESTING. I did lightly touch the abdomen of the beetle to coax it into the light but I'm glad that I didn't actually grab it because they are a type of Blister beetle! They produce the chemical Cantharidin in their blood and they defend themselves with it by bleeding from their leg joints. The Cantharidin can cause humans to develop blisters on their skin and it can be deadly if consumed. The female oil beetles cannot produce Cantharidin as adults and rely on the supply that they produce in their larval stage. They can also re-new their supply by mating since the adult males still produce Cantharidin and he transfers some of the chemical to her during copulation! Adult oil beetles eat plants but the beetle's larvae feed on the larvae of ground-dwelling bees. The beetle larvae cluster together and produce pheromones to trick male bees into thinking they are a female bee ready to mate. The beetle larvae then hitch a ride on the male and can be transferred to the actual female bee with whom he ends up mating. The female bee unknowingly will take the beetle larvae to her nest where they will eat her young and her stores of pollen. Oh the fascinating brutality of nature! The oil beetle may seem villainous but they may have the power to help us. A study has shown that the chemical that they can produce in their blood, Cantharidin, shows promise in killing cancer. Very cool.