Leonardo da Vinci drew a beetle known for aphrodisiac properties
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In Florence around 1503 or 1504, Leonardo da Vinci sketched a beetle among his drawings of hydraulics, and researchers are now exploring why.
Marco A. Bologna and Alberto Zilli examined the sketch, found in the British Library’s Arundel Codex, and identified the insect as likely a female Meloe proscarabaeus. Da Vinci frequently drew insects to study how their wings worked, but this beetle cannot fly, suggesting he may have been interested in its unique anatomy.
The researchers also noted the beetle produces cantaridina, a substance historically used in medicine and believed to have aphrodisiac qualities. Da Vinci possessed a copy of a 1491 herbal that detailed these uses, and his notebooks contain studies of male anatomy and an aphrodisiac recipe. However, the scientists caution that without a note from Da Vinci himself, they cannot definitively say why he drew the beetle.
He may have simply sketched it after finding it during his fieldwork on hydraulics, or been intrigued by its inability to fly. While they have narrowed down the species with some certainty, the artist’s exact reason for including the beetle in his notes remains unknown five centuries later.
