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Hi Steve & All, Oct 7, 2015
My Merck is 1976 so a bit dated but Cantharides has been around a long
time. But the Merck information is ambiguous and 1 mg/kg for horses sounds
far-fetched so where does the truth really lie ? [When the truth lies is
self-evident; election time].
If a horse died from eating a 'Blister Beetle' how could one establish
that it had eaten a Blister Beetle ? So I suspect Baron Munchausen, or an
understudy, was involved in that one.
Yt, DW, Kentville
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Shaw" <srshaw@Dal.Ca>
To: <natureNS@chebucto.ns.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2015 1:44 AM
Subject: [NatureNS] RE: [New post] Blister Beetles’ Defense Mechanism
> Hi Dave et al,
> Curious also, I checked cantharidin on Wikipedia, recalling having read
> somewhere that an entire French Foreign Legion outpost was reputedly
> immobilised, so to speak, from painful priapism of many hours duration
> from ingesting the stuff as Spanish Fly, intended as an aphrodisiac. The
> LD(50) (the lethal dose estimated to kill 50% of those receiving it) is
> cited as 0.5mg/kg for humans, so for a modest 50kg/110 lb human, LD(50)
> would be 25 mg, but the text says that as little as 10 mg 'can be lethal'
> (or 'has been lethal'? - otherwise how would you know?). Some blister
> beetle species (Epicauta) are said to contain nearly 5 mg each, so
> grinding up and ingesting an extract from as few as 2-5 such beetles could
> do you in.
>
> For horses, 1 mg/kg is quoted. Apparently, a few beetles hiding in bales
> of feed hay have made short work of some horses.
>
> Depending on whether it's a recent edition, one would normally rate the
> Merck Index above Wikipedia for reliable numbers, otherwise perhaps vice
> versa for some substances.
> Steve (Hfx)
> ________________________________________
> From: David & Alison Webster [dwebster@glinx.com]
> Sent: Monday, October 5, 2015 8:59 PM
> To: Jim Wolford; Ian Manning
> Cc: Chris Majka; David McCorquodale; Angus MacLean; Stephen Shaw
> Subject: Re: [New post] Blister Beetles’ Defense Mechanism
>
> Hi All,
> I just noticed that this was not on Naturens so my reply a few minutes
> ago, effectively to Jim only, is pasted below.
> START OF PASTE\\\\\
> I wouldn't bet the farm on this being a balanced account.
>
> According to my Merck Index 9th ed., the subcutaneous LD in rabbits of
> cantharidin is 100 mg/Kg. Cantharides (Spanish Fly), derived from
> Cantharis vesicatoria [really Lytta vesicatoria DW], is stated to contain
> 0.6-1% cantharidin and to be highly toxic to humans by ingestion or
> absorption from skin or mucous membranes.
>
> I wonder if the reference, in this Naturally Curious article, to 100 mg
> being lethal to humans, originated in the 100 mg/Kg sc lethal dose of
> rabbits.
> YT, DW, Kentville
> END OF PASTE
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jim Wolford<mailto:jimwolford@eastlink.ca>
> To: Ian Manning<mailto:ianmanning4@gmail.com>
> Cc: Chris Majka<mailto:c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca> ; David
> McCorquodale<mailto:david_mccorquodale@cbu.ca> ; Angus
> MacLean<mailto:angusmcl@ns.sympatico.ca> ; Stephen
> Shaw<mailto:srshaw@dal.ca> ; David & Alison
> Webster<mailto:dwebster@glinx.com>
> Sent: Monday, October 05, 2015 6:04 PM
> Subject: Re: [New post] Blister Beetles’ Defense Mechanism
>
> Thanks, Ian! OK to disseminate more widely?
>
> On Oct 5, 2015, at 8:57 AM, Ian Manning
> <ianmanning4@gmail.com<mailto:ianmanning4@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Another bite of cool natural history from Mary Holland.
>
> Cheers,
> Ian
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Naturally Curious with Mary Holland
> <comment-reply@wordpress.com<mailto:comment-reply@wordpress.com>>
> Date: 5 October 2015 at 08:03
> Subject: [New post] Blister Beetles’ Defense Mechanism
> To: imanning@upei.ca<mailto:imanning@upei.ca>
>
>
> Mary Holland posted: "Blister beetles are aptly named, for when they are
> disturbed they emit a yellow, oily, defensive secretion (cantharidin) from
> their joints which usually causes blisters when it comes in contact with
> skin. This toxin deters many potential predators and is "
> Respond to this post by replying above this line
>
> New post on Naturally Curious with Mary Holland
>
> [http://0.gravatar.com/blavatar/247bf460fa81e5a816e31c38c1012308?s=32&d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Femails%2Fblavatar.png&ts=1444043068]
> [http://2.gravatar.com/avatar/2f68fa0a2118c80811a23d5613ffacbc?s=50&d=identicon&r=G]<https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/author/naturallycuriouswithmaryholland/>
> Blister Beetles’ Defense
> Mechanism<https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/blister-beetles-defense-mechanism/>
> by Mary
> Holland<https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/author/naturallycuriouswithmaryholland/>
>
> [10-5 short-winged blister beetle
> 064]<https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/10-5-short-winged-blister-beetle-0641.jpg>Blister
> beetles are aptly named, for when they are disturbed they emit a yellow,
> oily, defensive secretion (cantharidin) from their joints which usually
> causes blisters when it comes in contact with skin. This toxin deters many
> potential predators and is especially effective against ants. According to
> naturalist/forester/writer Ginny Barlow, as little as 100 milligrams is
> reported to be fatal to humans if ingested, and this amount can be
> extracted from just a few beetles. Humans used to crush and dry blister
> beetles and use the resulting concoction for gout and arthritis. It was
> also used as a popular aphrodisiac known as Spanish fly. Because of its
> toxicity, it is no longer widely used in medicine.
>
> Cantharidin is, however, indirectly used by tree-nesting nuthatches. With
> a limited number of tree cavities, there is competition among animals
> using them to raise their young, especially between squirrels and
> nuthatches. Nuthatches have been seen with Short-winged Blister Beetles
> (Meloe angusticollis, see photo) in their beaks, "sweeping" them on the
> bark around tree cavity entrances. The nuthatches don’t eat the beetles,
> they strictly use them as tools. It is assumed that the birds do this in
> order to repel squirrels with the cantharidin that is smeared on the tree.
> (Thanks to Ginny Barlow for photo opportunity.)
>
> Naturally Curious is supported by donations. If you choose to contribute,
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> Mary
> Holland<https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/author/naturallycuriouswithmaryholland/>
> | October 5, 2015 at 7:01 am | Tags:
> Cantharidin<https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/tag/cantharidin/>,
> Meloe
> angusticollis<https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/tag/meloe-angusticollis/>
> | Categories:
> Beetles<https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/category/beetles/>,
> Defense
> Mechanisms<https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/category/defense-mechanisms/>,
> Insects<https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/category/insects/>,
> October<https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/category/october/>,
> Short-winged Blister
> Beetle<https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/category/short-winged-blister-beetle/>,
> Uncategorized<https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/>
> | URL: http://wp.me/pNTN1-35w
>
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