Editing Lytta vesicatoria (section)

=== Preparation of cantharidin ===
{{main|Cantharidin}}

[[File:Cantharidin-2D.svg|thumb|[[Cantharidin]]]]

[[Cantharidin]], the principal active component in preparations of Spanish fly, was first isolated and named in 1810 by the French chemist [[Pierre Robiquet]],  who demonstrated that it was the principal agent responsible for the aggressively blistering properties of this insect's egg coating. It was asserted at that time that it was as toxic as the most violent poisons then known, such as [[strychnine]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Robiquet |first=M. |year=1810 |title=Expériences sur les cantharides | journal=Annales de Chimie |volume=76 | pages=302–322 }}</ref><!--no current medical claim is being made here-->

Each beetle contains some 0.2–0.7&nbsp;mg of cantharidin, males having significantly more than females. The beetle secretes the agent orally, and exudes it from its joints as a milky fluid. The potency of the insect as a blistering agent has been known since antiquity and the activity has been used in various ways. This has led to its small-scale commercial preparation and sale, in a powdered form known as ''cantharides'' (from the plural of Greek κανθαρίς, ''Kantharis'', beetle), obtained from dried and ground beetles. The crushed powder is of yellow-brown to brown-olive color with [[iridescent]] reflections, is of disagreeable scent, and is bitter to taste. [[Cantharidin]], the active agent, is a [[terpenoid]], and is produced by some other insects, such as ''[[Epicauta]] immaculata''.<ref name=FarlexDict12>{{cite book |author=Anon |year=2012 |orig-year=2009 |title=Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary |chapter=Cantharide |location=Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania |publisher=Farlex |chapter-url=http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Cantharide |access-date=14 December 2015 }}</ref><ref name=Froberg10/><ref name=AggrawalAPC>{{cite book |editor-last=Aggrawal |editor-first=Anil |year=2007 |title=APC Textbook of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology |chapter=VII. Spanish Fly (Cantharides) |location=New Delhi, India |publisher=Avichal |isbn=978-8177394191 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=8177394193 |access-date=14 December 2015 |page=652f }}</ref><ref name=SaundersVet>{{cite book |editor1=Blood, Douglas Charles |editor2=Studdert, Virginia P. |editor3=Gay, Clive C. |year=2007 |title=Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary |edition=3rd |chapter=Cantharides |location=Philadelphia, PA, USA |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0702027888 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=070202788X |access-date=14 December 2015 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/saunderscomprehe00doug }}</ref><ref name=MosbyDict>{{cite book |editor=Jonas, Wayne B. |year=2005 |title=Mosby's Dictionary of Complementary and Alternative Medicine |edition=3rd |chapter=Cantharides |location=Philadelphia, PA, USA |publisher=Elsevier Saunders |isbn=978-0323025164 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0323025161 |access-date=14 December 2015 }}</ref>