Mythology

Bruchus

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Tradition: Irish Mythology
Alternative Names: Bruch, Brucha (plural: Brucha)
Category: Insect

The Myth

Bruchus is the immature form of a locust, described in the Hortus Sanitatis as a yellow insect with absent or undeveloped wings. This stage lasts until the creature becomes capable of flight. Although it cannot yet fly, the young locust is considered especially destructive because it remains in one place and gnaws fruit-bearing plants down to their roots, leaving them unable to produce further crops.

The Epistil Ísu, an Irish version of the pseudo-epigraphic Sunday Letter, presents the Bruch, or Brucha in the plural, as a supernatural creature sent to punish people who disrespect Sunday. Here, the insect has iron bristles and fiery eyes, giving it a more monstrous appearance than the yellow, wingless creature described in the Hortus Sanitatis.

Swarms of Brucha descend upon the vineyards of sinners and attack the grapevines. They cut through the branches, then roll among the fallen grapes, impaling the fruit on their iron spikes. Once the grapes have been pierced, they carry them away to their lairs. This unusual behaviour resembles accounts of hedgehogs carrying fruit on their spines, particularly the description attributed to Pliny, which may have inspired the medieval legend.

According to the Epistil Ísu, Brucha eventually mature into adult locusts, which possess iron wings capable of scything through wheat and knocking the ears from their stalks. The destructive insects continue their role as avengers of Sunday, punishing those who fail to observe the sacred day.

Bruchus therefore appears in two related traditions: as a destructive young locust that devours plants, and as a supernatural instrument of divine punishment. In the Irish account, its transformation into an adult locust does not end its destructive purpose. Both stages of its life bring devastation to crops, turning the familiar threat of locusts into a warning against religious disobedience.

Sources

“Bruch.” A Book of Creatures, September 15, 2016. https://abookofcreatures.com/2016/09/15/bruch/


Minceskro

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Tradition: Romani Mythology, Czech Mythology
Alternative Names: None recorded
Category: Insect

The Myth

Minceskro is a small, hairy beetle-like demon in Romani mythology, associated with blood disorders and sexually transmitted diseases. She crawls across the human body and enters the bloodstream, where she causes illnesses including gonorrhea, leucorrhea, and syphilis. Her insect form makes her a hidden source of disease, capable of entering the body and spreading suffering from within.

Minceskro is the eighth child and fourth daughter of Ana, Queen of the Keshalyi, and the King of the Loçolico. She and her siblings are described as Romani demons of disease, born from an abusive and unnatural union. By the time her brother Lolmisho the Red Mouse was born, Ana had become desperate over the monstrous children she had produced. She begged Melalo, a two-headed bird, to sterilize her and prevent any further births.

Melalo instructed Ana to bury herself in a dung heap. Rather than preventing another demon from being born, however, this act allowed a dung beetle to enter her body. Minceskro emerged from that beetle, becoming another of Ana’s disease-bearing offspring. Her unusual origin connects her directly with filth and dung, distinguishing her from her siblings while explaining her beetle-like form.

Minceskro’s husband is Lolmisho, the Red Mouse, and their children are responsible for further diseases, including measles, smallpox, and scarlet fever. Through this family, illnesses are represented as a lineage of supernatural beings, each contributing to the suffering of humanity.

A traditional remedy for syphilis was associated with Minceskro’s origins. According to the account, the patient was buried in manure and sprinkled with firewater, a procedure believed to drive the beetle from the body and heal the resulting ulcers. This was a folkloric treatment based on the supernatural explanation of disease, rather than a medically effective remedy.

Minceskro embodies the fear of illnesses that enter the body unseen and attack the blood. Her connection to dung, her beetle form, and her role as the mother of further disease demons place her among the supernatural beings through which Romani folklore explained the origins and spread of sickness.

Sources

“Minceskro.” A Book of Creatures, March 13, 2017. https://abookofcreatures.com/2017/03/13/minceskro/


Wingwak

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Tradition: Algonquian Mythology, American Mythology, Canadian Mythology
Alternative Names: Wingoc
Category: Insect

The Myth

The Wingwak are tiny supernatural insects that bring sleep to human beings. They appear as somniferous flies or butterflies, gathering above people and overwhelming them with drowsiness. A person is typically visited by around five Wingwak, though larger numbers can gather when sleepiness is especially strong. Their presence turns the ordinary experience of feeling tired into the work of invisible spiritual creatures.

According to an Algonquian story, a man who was playing in the sky once fell through a hole and landed on Earth. There he discovered people sleeping, including one man who slept much more deeply than everyone else. The celestial visitor made himself a small bow and arrows and began shooting at the clouds of flies hovering above the unusually heavy sleeper. After he killed some of the Wingwak and drove the others away, the man finally awoke.

The visitor then shared his wisdom with the Algonquians. Among his warnings was a prophecy about the arrival of bearded men who would bring an end to their people. The encounter with the Wingwak thus forms part of a larger story in which a being from the sky intervenes in human affairs, first by freeing a man from overwhelming sleep and then by delivering a warning about the future.

The Wingwak also appear in expressions used to describe sleepiness. Saying that the Wingwak are killing someone means that the person is overwhelmed by the need to sleep, while remarking that there are many Wingwak conveys that everyone has fallen asleep. These expressions reflect the belief that sleep can be understood as the collective work of small supernatural insects gathering around their human victims.

Sources

“Wingoc.” A Book of Creatures, February 4, 2019. https://abookofcreatures.com/2019/02/04/wingoc/


Pinaviztli

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Tradition: Aztec Mythology, Mexican Mythology
Alternative Names: None recorded
Category: Insect

The Myth

The Pinaviztli is an ill-omened insect resembling a spider the size of a mouse. Its body is fat, smooth, and hairless, with a striking red-and-black coloration. Its appearance inside a house is considered a warning that misfortune may soon befall the household, although the exact nature of the coming trouble can vary.

When a Pinaviztli enters a home, one way to interpret its arrival is to draw a cross on the floor, with its four arms pointing toward the cardinal directions. The insect is placed in the center, spat upon, and asked, “Why did you come? I want to know, why did you come?” The direction in which it moves is then taken as an omen. If it heads north, it foretells an approaching death; movement in any other direction indicates a lesser affliction. Afterward, the insect is dismissed with the words, “Go your way, I don’t care about you,” and left at the nearest crossroads.

A second ritual involves passing a hair through the Pinaviztli’s body and tying it to a stick, leaving the insect suspended for an entire day. If it has disappeared by the following day, harm is believed to be certain. If it remains, the household members spit on it and take this as reassurance that no misfortune will occur.

Despite its reputation as a creature of ill omen, the Pinaviztli does not always foretell disaster. On some occasions, its appearance is believed to predict the arrival of good food. Its presence therefore serves as a supernatural sign whose meaning must be interpreted through ritual, with the possibility of either misfortune or an unexpected blessing.

Sources

“Pinaviztli.” A Book of Creatures, March 11, 2019. https://abookofcreatures.com/2019/03/11/pinaviztli/


Tçaridyi

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Tradition: Romani Mythology, Czech Mythology
Alternative Names: The Hot One, The Burning One
Category: Insect

The Myth

Tçaridyi is a small, hairy worm or caterpillar that causes fever and inflammation in women. Her body is covered in long hairs that detach as she moves through the human body. These hairs are believed to irritate the tissues, producing heat, pain, and illness. She travels through the arteries and veins, infesting women and bringing particular suffering through puerperal fever.

Tçaridyi is one of the disease-causing children of Ana, a Keshali fairy in Romani folklore, and the King of the Loçolico. She was conceived unnaturally to become the wife of Tçulo, one of Ana’s other offspring. Tçulo had become increasingly troublesome, even persecuting his own sister Lilyi, and Melalo suggested that the King produce a wife for him to distract him. The precise circumstances of Tçaridyi’s conception are unknown, although the account suggests that worms may have been involved.

Tçaridyi and Tçulo became the parents of beings responsible for women’s diseases. While both spouses torment humanity, they are said to rarely cause death. Tçaridyi’s particular danger lies in the way her detached hairs bring fever and inflammation as she moves through a woman’s bloodstream.

Tçaridyi represents disease as a tiny creature that enters the body and causes harm through its movements. Her worm-like form and irritating hairs offer a supernatural explanation for fever and inflammation, while her association with puerperal fever places her among the disease demons feared for the dangers they posed to women.

Sources

“Tcaridyi.” A Book of Creatures, October 14, 2016. https://abookofcreatures.com/2016/10/14/tcaridyi/


Bitoso

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Tradition: Romani Mythology, Czech Mythology
Alternative Names: The Faster, The Fasting One
Category: Insect

The Myth

Bitoso is a small, multi-headed worm in Romani folklore, described in some accounts as having four heads. He lives within the body and causes a range of relatively mild ailments, including headaches, stomachaches, and loss of appetite. His gnawing is believed to produce earaches and toothaches, making him a supernatural explanation for the painful sensations associated with illness. Among the disease-causing beings in his family, Bitoso is considered the least harmful.

Bitoso is one of the children of Ana, a Keshali fairy who was coerced into bearing the offspring of the King of the Loçolico. His birth followed advice from Melalo, who recommended that the King eat garlic upon which he had urinated. After the King visited Ana, she gave birth to Bitoso, who later became the husband of Schilalyi.

Bitoso and Schilalyi have children responsible for further ailments, including colic, cramps, tinnitus, and toothache. Through this family, physical suffering is represented as the work of supernatural creatures living within or affecting the human body. Although Bitoso himself is comparatively harmless, his offspring contribute to the range of pains and discomforts attributed to their lineage.

The belief that worms cause toothache has a much older history beyond Romani folklore. An ancient Babylonian tale describes how a worm came into existence through a chain of creation beginning with the heavens and continuing through the Earth, rivers, canals, and marshes. The worm then approached the gods Shamash and Ea, demanding food. Rejecting figs and pomegranates, it instead chose to live between the teeth and jawbone, where it would destroy blood vessels, seize the roots, and weaken the teeth.

Bitoso belongs to a tradition in which worms are imagined as hidden agents of bodily pain. His multiple heads and gnawing behaviour make him an unsettling but relatively mild member of Ana’s disease-causing offspring, embodying the idea that even ordinary aches and pains can have a living supernatural cause.

Sources

“Bitoso.” A Book of Creatures, November 18, 2016. https://abookofcreatures.com/2016/11/18/bitoso/


Tetsugi

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Iron Ants
Category: Insect

The Myth

Tetsugi are iron ants that inhabit particular regions of the Buddhist hells, where they torment condemned souls. These supernatural insects are described as deadly creatures capable of attacking the entire body, devouring flesh, drinking blood, severing tendons, breaking bones, and consuming the marrow and internal organs of their victims.

In the Shūchūshūchū Hell, one of the sixteen subsidiary regions of the Hell of Crushing, iron ants attack sinners while flames engulf their bodies. According to the Sūtra on the Right Mindfulness, people who committed sexual acts with sheep or donkeys during their lives and failed to respect the Buddha fall into this hell after death. There, the combination of burning fire and the relentless attacks of the iron ants subjects them to prolonged and terrible suffering. The condemned cry out in agony as the insects tear into their bodies.

Iron ants also inhabit Issaikonmetsu Hell, another subsidiary region of the Hell of Crushing. This realm punishes those who committed sexual acts with women through the anus. The condemned endure additional tortures imposed by the hell’s wardens, including being forced to drink molten copper liquid from a heated iron bowl and having white wax poured into their ears. Amid these punishments, iron ants and other black insects of iron, surrounded by flames, attack their bodies and devour their eyes.

Tetsugi represent the merciless creatures of Buddhist hell, where supernatural insects serve as instruments of punishment for the sins committed during earthly life. Their iron bodies and destructive feeding make them especially terrifying, as they inflict suffering by consuming not only flesh and blood but also the deeper structures of the body. In these hells, their attacks ensure that the condemned endure further torment alongside fire and the punishments administered by the wardens.

Sources

“Tetsugi.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1074589331.html


Nitouchu

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Nitouchū
Category: Insect

The Myth

Nitouchu is a strange insect described as resembling a cricket or caterpillar, with an unusual feature that sets it apart from ordinary insects: it has a head at both ends of its body. Its appearance is recorded in the Himeguni Sankai Roku, an illustrated book describing unusual insects found in different regions of Japan.

Despite its strange form, Nitouchu is specifically distinguished from a centipede. The surviving description provides no further details about its behaviour, habitat, size, or whether it was believed to possess any supernatural abilities.

The Himeguni Sankai Roku, completed around 1762 by Professor Minamiya, records twenty-five types of unusual insects accompanied by illustrations. Nitouchu is one of these curious creatures, although even the original author did not know exactly what kind of insect it was. Its identity and origins therefore remain uncertain.

Sources

“Nitouchu.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1021229162.html


Akuchu

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Kuchu
Category: Insect

The Myth

Akuchu is a small, harmful insect believed to live inside the human body and cause illness. It is described as a red creature with six legs, a pointed proboscis, and a tail fin. Unlike ordinary insects, it inhabits the body rather than the outside world, making it a hidden source of sickness.

According to the Harimonsho, a book on acupuncture, Akuchu attaches itself to a person and feeds on their food. It is said to reside in the spleen, where it consumes nourishment and brings harm to its host. Its presence reflects a traditional belief that disease could be caused by tiny creatures living within the body.

The account states that taking Mukou, a type of herbal medicine, causes all the Akuchu to disappear. This remedy offers a way to eliminate the harmful insects and restore the body. Although the description is brief, Akuchu represents a supernatural explanation for illness in which an unseen creature lives within a person and feeds at their expense.

Sources

“Akuchuu.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010654395.html


Jiuchong

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: Wine Worm, Alcohol Worm
Category: Insect

The Myth

The Jiuchong is a small, red, worm-like creature that lives inside a human body and creates an insatiable desire for alcohol. It is described as a fleshy creature approximately three inches long, with a mouth and eyes, wriggling like a fish in water. Its presence allows its host to consume enormous quantities of wine without becoming drunk, while leaving them with a constant need to drink.

The creature appears in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Zhiyi), in the story of Liu, a wealthy man from Changshan who was exceptionally fond of drinking. Whenever he drank alone, he could finish an entire wine jar. He was so devoted to alcohol that he planted half of his three hundred mu of farmland with millet used for brewing. Although he drank heavily, his wealth meant that this habit did not initially cause him financial difficulties.

A foreign Buddhist monk eventually recognized that Liu’s unusual drinking ability was caused by a wine worm living inside him. The monk offered to remove it without medicine. Liu was made to lie face down in the midday sun, with his hands and feet tied, while a vessel of fine wine was placed just beyond his reach. As thirst and the smell of wine became unbearable, Liu suddenly felt an intense itching in his throat and vomited the creature into the wine. The red worm wriggled in the vessel, and Liu was finally freed from its influence.

The monk refused payment in gold but asked to keep the wine worm. He explained that it was the essence of wine and possessed a remarkable ability: when placed in a jar of water and stirred around, it could transform the water into excellent wine. Liu tested this claim and found it to be true. Yet after the worm was removed, he developed an intense aversion to alcohol. His body gradually grew thinner, his wealth dwindled, and eventually his household became too poor to provide sufficient food.

The story ends with a reflection on Liu’s strange reversal of fortune. When he drank an enormous amount of wine, his wealth remained intact; after he stopped drinking, poverty overtook him. The tale leaves open whether the wine worm had truly been a disease or whether it had been the source of Liu’s former prosperity. The Jiuchong is therefore both a parasitic creature that controls a person’s appetite and a supernatural source of wine, whose removal changes its host’s life in unexpected ways.

Sources

“酒虫.” 维基百科，自由的百科全书. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%85%92%E8%99%AB