Cantharides

Cantharides \Can*thar"i*des\ (k[a^]n*th[a^]r"[i^]*d[=e]z), n.
   pl.
   See {Cantharis}.
   [1913 Webster]
    

Cantharis \Can"tha*ris\ (k[a^]n"th[.a]*r[i^]s), n.; pl.
   {Cantharides} (k[a^]n*th[a^]r"[i^]*d[=e]z). [L., a kind of
   beetle, esp. the Spanish fly, Gr. kanqari`s.] (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.
   [1913 Webster]