English:Lytta spanishfly
German:Spanische Fliege
Danish:Spansk flue
Date:21/06/2009
Location:Austria, Niederösterreich, Niedersulz
 
Copyright:Per Hoffmann Olsen
Camera:Canon EOS 30D
Lens:Sigma 150mm 1:2.8 APO Macro with 1.4 Teleconverter
 
Exposure:1/250
Aperture:f/8.0
ISO:320

The Spanish Fly is well known throughout history as an supposed aphrodisiac, which should arouse sexually. The Cantharidin secretions, only contained in the males of Lytta vesicatoria, is very poisonous - even stronger than strychnine, which has led to several deaths.

Lytta vesicatoria

By the way, the Latin name Lytta means something in the direction of: raging madness.

This is a female.

We use cookies

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential for the operation of the site, while others help us to improve this site and the user experience (tracking cookies). You can decide for yourself whether you want to allow cookies or not. Please note that if you reject them, you may not be able to use all the functionalities of the site.