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Webster 1913 Edition

Cantharis

Can′tha-ris

(kăn′thȧ-rĭs)
,
Noun.
;
pl.
Cantharides
(kăn-thăr′ĭ-dēz)
.
[L., a kind of beetle, esp. the Spanish fly, Gr.
κανθαρίς
.]
(Zool.)
A beetle (
Lytta vesicatoria
, syn.
Cantharis vesicatoria
), having an elongated cylindrical body of a brilliant green color, and a nauseous odor; the blister fly or blister beetle, of the apothecary; – also called
Spanish fly
. Many other species of
Lytta
, used for the same purpose, take the same name. See
Blister beetle
, under
Blister
. The plural form in usually applied to the dried insects used in medicine.

Webster 1828 Edition

Cantharis

CANTHARIS

or plu. CANTHARIDES,
Noun.
Spanish flies; a species of Meloe. This fly is nine or ten lines in length, of a shining green color, mixed with azure, and has a nauseous smell. It feeds upon the leaves of trees and shrubs, preferring the ash. These flies, when bruised, are universally used as a vesicatory, or blistering plaster. The largest come from Italy, but the best from Spain.

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