Lytta vesicatoria: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the lytta vesicatoria lives – recorded in 13 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Lytta vesicatoria
Group	Beetles
Found in	13 countries
Continents	Europe
Class	Insect
Order	Coleoptera
Family	Meloidae

Where does the lytta vesicatoria live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the lytta vesicatoria in 13 countries and territories across Europe.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the lytta vesicatoria?

The lytta vesicatoria (Lytta vesicatoria) is an insect in the order Coleoptera and the family Meloidae, genus Lytta. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the lytta vesicatoria

Lytta vesicatoria, also known as the Spanish fly, is an aposematic emerald-green beetle in the blister beetle family (Meloidae). It is distributed across Eurasia.

The species and others in its family were used in traditional apothecary preparations as "Cantharides". The insect is the source of the terpenoid cantharidin, a toxic blistering agent once used as an exfoliating agent, anti-rheumatic drug and an aphrodisiac. The substance has also found culinary use in some blends of the North African spice mix ras el hanout. Its various supposed benefits have been responsible for accidental poisonings.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Lytta vesicatoria (revision 1378467805), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q624996 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).