2010, Carol Turkington, Deborah R. Mitchell,cantharidin, entry inEncyclopaedia of Poisons and Antidotes, 3rd Edition,page 49,
Ingestion ofSpanish fly causes burning in the throat and sloughing of the upper gastrointestinal tract.
2012, Richard Webster,The Encyclopedia of Superstitions[1], page11:
The best-known aphrodisiac isSpanish fly, which is made from the wings of the blister beetle.Spanish fly creates a condition known as priapism in men. This is long-standing erection, which sounds good in theory. Unfortunately,Spanish fly removes all sensitivity from the organ, rendering it ineffective. In women the results are more severe. These include depression, vomiting, inflammation of the kidneys, and even death.
1850, Thomas Duché Mitchell,Materia Medica and Therapeutics[2], page248:
TheSpanish fly abounds in the south of France, Spain, and Italy, and is found on the ash, lilac, privet, elder, honeysuckle, plum, willow, and elm trees.[…]TheAmerican fly is rather smaller than theSpanish fly, and of a much darker color.
2003, T. F. Allen,Hand Book of Materia Medica and Homoeopathic Therapeutics[3], page266:
Spanish flies applied to the skin produce blisters (vesication, with inflammation and even sloughing).
The synonymscantharis andcantharides and associated taxonomic classification are regarded by some as obsolete and incorrect, but are still sometimes used;Cantharis is a genus of not closely related but superficially similar beetles of the familyCantharidae. (See alsoCantharis on Wikipedia.Wikipedia)
Cantharis on Wikipedia.Wikipedia)