Chinese herbal medicine "Di Gu Niu" is the dried body of the larva of the antlion, an insect of the family Myrmeleontidae. Di Gu Niu has a pungent and salty taste, and is of neutral nature with toxic properties. It is widely distributed in southern regions and has the function of regulating urinary calculi and nourishing the kidneys. Below, we will introduce a clinical case of using Di Gu Niu formula to treat kidney stones.
Formula: 30g of Lu Jiao Shuang, 30g of Yan Ba Ji Tian, 30g of Yan Du Zhong, 3g of Zi You Gui (added later at 10 minutes), 120g of Guang Jin Qian Cao, 30g of Hai Jin Sha, 15g of Sheng Ji Nei Jin, 30g of Chuan Hou Po, 15g of Sheng Huai Niu Xi, 3g of Ru Xiang, 30g of Hua Shi, 30g of Jing Hai Piao Xiao, 30g of Sheng Ban Xia (smashed), 30g of Sheng Jiang (self-prepared, sliced), 15g of Yun Mu Xiang (added later at 10 minutes), 30g of Chi Shao, 15g of Zhi Gan Cao, 6g of Jin Sha Niu Fen (dissolved in water), 15g of Dong Kui Zi.
Usage: 10 doses. Add 2000ml of cold water, add Mu Xiang and You Gui later, simmer on low heat and extract 600ml. Divide into 3 doses and take before meals with warm water. Dissolve the powdered medicine in water for consumption. Soak the herbal residue for a bath.
The yellow-legged antlion has a body length of 32mm and a wingspan of 73mm. Its body is slender, resembling a dragonfly. The head is wider than the prothorax, with two compound eyes in brown color. The head is black, the mouthparts are yellow, and the antennae are black and rod-shaped with a yellow pedicel.
The prothorax is yellow, with two wide brown longitudinal stripes on the back, and yellow long hairs on the prothorax. The mesothorax and metathorax are black, significantly larger than the prothorax. The legs are yellow and have yellow long hairs. The wings are transparent with a faint iridescent color, and the wing membrane is soft and fragile. The forewings and hindwings are similar in shape and size, with yellow veins. The abdomen is dark brown.
The larvae of the antlion resemble spiders, with a body length of 6-18mm. They are earthy yellow to dirty white in color, with black-brown markings. The body is covered with scattered and clustered black-brown stiff hairs. The head has a pair of pincer-like mandibles, no wings, three pairs of legs on the thorax, and a relatively large abdomen.
