Witnessed by: TCM
Chafer grub (Holotrichia diomphalia), of the Scarabaeidae (Insecta) family. The fat C-curled larva of the chafer beetle, living underground on roots and rotted matter; native range: the larva lives in soil and dung heaps across China and east Asia, dug up in the working of the ground. Globally recognized as qi cao (蠐螬) in Chinese, and chafer grub, white grub, scarab larva in English. The part used is the whole dried larva. A plump, wrinkled, yellowish-white grub with a dark head, dried to a hard curled body, with a rank fatty odour.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
CHAFER GRUB
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- chafer grub
- Scientific name
- Holotrichia diomphalia Bates
- Family
- Scarabaeidae (Insecta)
Form
- Part used
- the whole dried larva
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- salty (咸)
Temperature
- TCM
- warm (微溫, slightly warm)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- breaks up blood stasis and dispels accumulated masses, dissipates nodules, and brightens the eyes
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pregnancy; blood deficiency without stasis
- Toxicity
- slightly toxic; a forceful blood-breaker, dosed small and compounded, never taken alone
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