味咸、辛，平，无毒。主小儿惊痫，夜啼，去三虫，灭黑 ，令人面色好，疗男子阴疡
病。
女子崩中赤白，产后余痛，灭诸疮瘢痕。生颖川平泽。四月取自死者，勿令中湿，湿有
毒，不可用。人家养蚕时，有合箔皆僵者，即曝燥都不坏。今见小白色，似有盐度者为好。
末以涂马齿，即不能食草，
以桑叶拭去乃还食，此明蚕即马类也。
〔谨案〕《别录》云∶末之，封疔肿，
此白僵死蚕，皆白色，陶
云似有盐度，此误矣。
味苦，平，有毒。主目赤痛， 伤泪出，瘀血，血闭，寒热，酸 ，无子。一名魂常。
生汉中川泽，五月取。
此虻不啖血，状似虻而小，近道草中不见有，市人亦少有卖者，方家所用，惟是蜚虻也。
〔谨案〕虻有数种，并能啖
血，商浙以南，江岭间大有。木虻长大绿色，殆如次蝉，咂牛马，
或至顿仆。蜚虻状如蜜蜂，黄黑色，今俗用多以此也。又一种小虻，名鹿虻，大如蝇，啮牛
马亦猛，市人采卖之。三种同体，以疗血为本，余疗虽小有异同，用之不为嫌。何有木虻，
而不啖血。木虻倍大蜚虻。陶云似虻而小者，未识之矣。
味苦，微寒，有毒。主逐瘀血，破下血积，坚痞，症瘕，寒热，通利血脉及九窍，女子
月水不通，积聚，除贼血在
心腹五脏者，及喉痹结塞。生江夏川谷，五月取。腹有血者良。
此即今啖牛马血者，伺其腹满掩取干之，方家皆呼为虻虫矣。
〔谨案〕三虻俱食牛马，
非独此也，但得即堪用，何暇
血充，然始掩取。如以义求，应如养鹰，饥则为用，若伺其饱，何
[White Stiff Silkworm]
Taste: Salty, Pungent. Nature: Neutral. Toxicity: Non-toxic. Indications: Primarily treats pediatric convulsions and epilepsy (Jing Xian), night crying, expels three types of intestinal parasites, eliminates facial melanosis, improves complexion, and treats penile ulcerations.
[Mu Meng (Wood Horsefly)]
Indications for women: Metrorrhagia with red and white discharge, postpartum residual pain, elimination of scars from various sores. Habitat: Flat marshes in Yingchuan. Collection: Collected in the fourth lunar month from dead specimens. They must not be allowed to become damp; dampness renders them toxic and unusable. When silkworms are reared by households, if all silkworms on a single tray stiffen and die, they should be sun-dried thoroughly without rotting. Those currently seen that are small and white, appearing as if covered with salt crystals, are considered superior. When powdered and applied to horse teeth, the horse ceases to eat grass; wiping it off with mulberry leaves restores its appetite. This demonstrates that silkworms and horses belong to the same category.
[Commentary]: *Bielu* states: "Powdered and applied to seal turgor and swelling." These white stiff dead silkworms are all white. Tao Hongjing's statement that they appear like those with salt crystals is erroneous.
[Fei Meng (Flying Horsefly)]
Taste: Bitter. Nature: Neutral. Toxicity: Toxic. Indications: Primarily treats red and painful eyes, lachrymation due to wind-cold, blood stasis, amenorrhea, alternating chills and fever, joint soreness, and infertility. Alias: Hun Chang. Habitat: Rivers and marshes in Hanzhong. Collection: Collected in the fifth lunar month.
This type of horsefly does not suck blood. It resembles the horsefly but is smaller. It is rarely seen in grass near inhabited areas, and few vendors sell it in markets. The physicians use only Fei Meng.
[Commentary]: There are several types of horseflies, all capable of sucking blood. They are abundant south of Shangzhou and Zhejiang, and between the Yangtze River and Lingnan. Mu Meng is large and green, resembling a cicada; it bites cattle and horses, sometimes causing them to fall. Fei Meng resembles a honeybee, yellowish-black, and is commonly used in modern practice. Another small type is called Lu Meng (Deer Horsefly), size of a housefly; it bites cattle and horses fiercely, and vendors collect and sell it. The bodies of these three types are similar; their primary function is treating blood disorders. Although other indications vary slightly, using them interchangeably causes no conflict. How can there be a claim that Mu Meng does not suck blood? Mu Meng is twice the size of Fei Meng. Tao Hongjing's description of it being "like a horsefly but smaller" is incomprehensible to me.
[Meichong (Horsefly Larvae/Adults for Medicine)]
Taste: Bitter. Nature: Slightly Cold. Toxicity: Toxic. Indications: Primarily drives out blood stasis, breaks down sub-abdominal blood accumulations, hard epigastric masses, zheng jia (abdominal masses), alternating chills and fever, unblocks meridians and orifices, treats amenorrhea, accumulations, removes evil blood from the heart, abdomen, and five zang organs, and treats throat bi (obstruction). Habitat: Rivers and valleys in Jiangxia. Collection: Collected in the fifth lunar month. Specimens with blood in the abdomen are preferred.
This refers to the horseflies that currently suck the blood of cattle and horses. They are captured when their abdomens are full and dried. Physicians refer to them as Meichong.
[Commentary]: All three types of horseflies feed on cattle and horse blood, not just this one. As long as they are obtained, they are usable. Why wait until they are full of blood before capturing them? If reasoning by principle, it should be like training hawks: use them when hungry. If waiting for them to be full...