Ground Beetle is the larva of the antlion insect, also known as sand valley beetle, ant lion, and golden sand beetle. It has the effect of detoxification and diuresis, and can be used to treat kidney stones. Let's take a look at the medicinal value of ground beetle.
Ground beetle 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 thorax, with two brown compound eyes, a black head, yellow mouthparts, black antennae, and yellow segments.
The thorax is yellow with two wide brown longitudinal bands on the back, and yellow long hairs on the thorax. The middle and posterior thorax is black and significantly larger than the anterior thorax. The legs are yellow and covered with yellow long hairs. The wings are transparent with a faint iridescent color, and the wing membranes are soft and fragile. The shape and size of the forewings and hindwings are similar, and the wing veins are yellow. The abdomen is dark brown.
The larva resembles a spider, with a body length of 6-18mm, ranging from yellowish to dirty white, with black-brown markings. It has scattered and clustered black-brown stiff hairs on its body, a pair of pincer-like mandibles on the head, no wings, three pairs of legs on the thorax, and a larger abdomen.
1. Treatment of malaria
Take eleven ground beetles, mix with alcohol and swallow. Take one dose half an hour before the onset of malaria. For chronic malaria, take one dose for one week.
2. Treatment of malaria in children
Take seven ground beetles, fry them and grind them into powder, then swallow with boiled water.
3. Treatment of carbuncles
Take seven ground beetles. Crush six of them into fluff and apply them to the top of the carbuncle, and place the remaining one on the carbuncle without crushing it. Wrap with cloth. (①This prescription is from "Secret Prescription of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Guizhou Province")
4. Treatment of scrofula and ulcers
Mix ground beetles with borax and a little borneol, crush them into a paste and apply to the ulcer, then cover with adhesive plaster. (From "Essentials of Medicinal Properties of Grass")
5. Treatment of bamboo or wood thorns and iron sand embedded in the flesh
Apply ground beetles with pumpkin pulp to the affected area. (From "Sichuan Materia Medica")
