The Encyclopedia of Aphrodisiacs by Christian Rätsch

Author:Christian Rätsch
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Herbal Remedies
Publisher: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Published: 2013-04-21T16:00:00+00:00

Blister beetles (Mylabris) and oil beetles (Meloë), two poisonous beetles that are used as aphrodisiac alternatives to Spanish flies. (Drawing by Mangin 1869, 333B)

The European oil beetle is also known as the oil worm, oil mother, or oil bug. In former times, “the people of the Ditmarsh [an area in northern Germany] dried, powdered, and drank this beetle with beer. This anticantharide or Kaddentrank is said to be good for all kinds of weakness. The most effective part is a vesicant fluid, found in the joints of the legs, which contains cantharide” (Hovorka and Kronfeld 1908, 285B). The oil beetle is related to the Spanish fly.*274 Although it is used in the same manner, it never became as well-known as its more famous relative.

Commentary

At the night bazaar in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, we tried diving beetles. The stand owner initially ignored us “long-nosed” people for a fairly long time. Finally, he served us the large, roasted beetles with hot sauce. They tasted surprisingly crisp, spicy, and good, so much so that we ordered more. We did not notice an aphrodisiacal effect.

Literature

Beutelspacher, Carlos R. 1988. Las mariposas entre los antiguos mexicanos. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Económica.

Dahl, Roald. 1979. My Uncle Oswald. London: Michael Joseph/Penguin.

Klausnitzer, Bernhard. 1981. Wunderwelt der Käfer. Leipzig: Edition Leipzig.

Line, Les, Lorus Milne, and Margery Milne. 1985. Die Wunderwelt der Insekten. Zürich: Ringier.

Silow, Carl Axel. 1976. Wife power medicines among the Nkoya of mid-western Zambia. (Göteborgs Etnografiska Museum, Årstryck) Annual Report for 1976:11–26. Gothenburg: The Ethnographical Museum.

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