Not Just Another Pest

The beetles generally feed on alfalfa because of the blooms, in addition to other blooming plants found in the field. Once ingested, however, these insects can be a horse’s worst nightmare.

The beetle’s defense mechanism is a substance called cantharidin, which is deadly to many animals. When a horse eats a beetle, the lining of the digestive tract becomes blistered. These blisters rupture causing sores and ulcers, and a great deal of tissue damage. The pain in the gut then causes colic so the blister beetle poisoning is generally not suspected until several horses get sick from eating the same hay.

And it doesn’t take much. Research at Texas A & M has shown that half a milligram of cantharidin per kilogram of the horse’s weight is enough to be fatal. It takes only 3 to 10 beetles to kill a horse, depending on the type of beetle. A fatal dose can also accumulate over several days if the horse eats a beetle or two with each feeding. Only about 20% of horses that show signs of blister beetle poisoning recover with treatment.

The poison is deadly whether the horse eats hay containing live beetles or shredded remains of dead ones in last year’s hay; cantharidin remains deadly for a long time.

Other signs to watch out for are: As cantharidin is absorbed by the horse’s system, his temperature rises due to massive inflammation throughout the body, and his gums become purple due to circulatory failure. He may have a foul body odor, caused by failure of the kidneys to remove the offending substance from the bloodstream.

Frequent urination is another sign, caused by inflammation of the urinary ducts. He also becomes dehydrated. Body temperature may rise to 104 degrees F and pulse up to 72 or higher, sometimes up to 100. Respiration increases, sometimes with jerking of the abdomen. The horse may tremble or be stiff in his movements.

Treatment for blister beetle poisoning can sometimes save a horse if begun immediately—and if the horse has not eaten a large number of beetles. The best treatment seems to be replenishing fluids intravenously to help keep the horse from going into shock, minimizing pain with drugs, and giving activated charcoal to absorb the poison in the gut time.

Blister beetle deaths are reported infrequently, but Sue Blodgett, University of California pest management specialist, says poisoning cases are more common than reported. A  cow or inexpensive horse is usually not examined for cause of death.

And, poisoning is becoming a bigger problem than in the past because alfalfa hay is now shipped more widely across the country.

Blister beetle contamination is unpredictable. Some years are worse for infestation than others. When there’s a large population of grasshoppers, there is an increase in beetles the following year, since the beetle larvae feed on grasshopper eggs laid the season before.