Ban Mao

Ban Mao is not a plant but the dried whole body of blister beetles in the genus Mylabris, principally Mylabris phalerata and M. cichorii (Coleoptera: Meloidae), collected in central and southern China during the warm season. These beetles are stout, elongate insects approximately one and a half to three centimeters long, with soft flexible elytra typically marked by alternating transverse bands of orange-yellow and black, a small head bent downward, and prominent thread-like antennae. The insects are gathered in early morning when sluggish from cool temperatures, killed by steaming or boiling, and dried whole for medicinal use. The body contains high concentrations of cantharidin, a powerful blistering vesicant historically extracted from related Old World blister beetles and notorious for severe systemic toxicity.