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This beetle found in Maine produces a blister-causing chemical that can kill a horse
Bangor daily news ^ | 12 Aug 2021 | Julia Bayly

Posted on 08/12/2021 6:51:01 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT

There are thousands of different kinds of beetles in Maine. But only one — the blister beetle — produces a toxic chemical that causes skin blisters if touched, is fatal to livestock, was once a common treatment for warts and gave us the term “Spanish Fly” for aphrodisiacs.

“The big story with them is they do release a fatty material from the joints of their legs that is very toxic and causes severe blistering.”

That fatty material is the chemical cantharidin. In addition to causing irritating skin blisters, it can be fatal if swallowed as it will form blisters inside the body. This is particularly concerning when it comes to livestock.

All it takes is four to six grams of blister beetles to quickly kill an 1,100-pound horse, even if the horse only eats parts of the blister beetles.

“You can imagine if a horse is grazing on feed that has lupine growing in it,” Dill said. “All of a sudden there is a lupine with 10 or 15 blister beetles on it and the horse munches it down — it can be really bad.”

...as recently as 1996 four young men were treated in Pennsylvania after drinking Kool-Aid they had laced with cantharidin. They had planned to give the concoction to a woman one of them was dating.

...Burying them is key because even in death, blister beetles retain the toxin in their corpses.

(Excerpt) Read more at bangordailynews.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Gardening; Outdoors
KEYWORDS: beetle
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To: DUMBGRUNT

Blister Beetles, dead and living can be found in hay in Kansas. You need to be careful with your hay sources. Blister Beetles can kill horses, but only by eating infested hay. More concerning is that Kansas is still infected with Democrats who do much more damage than Blister Beetles.


21 posted on 08/12/2021 11:31:33 AM PDT by centurion316
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To: DUMBGRUNT

Well known phenomena. For decades. Look up cantharidins...wonder if never seen in maine before. Ahhhhhh! Climate change...climate change...ahhhhhh!


22 posted on 08/12/2021 12:19:50 PM PDT by Getready (Wisdom is more valuable than gold and diamonds, and harder to find.)
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To: ImJustAnotherOkie

If he doesn’t already, he will now!


23 posted on 08/12/2021 6:08:56 PM PDT by Trillian
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