The whole "weaponized beetles" concept, and having them climb out of people's mouths was stolen (borrowed?) from an old Tales From The Crypt episode starring E.G. Marshall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LsMNs4hW1s
Looks like the writers are running out of ideas.
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Yeah. Makes perfect sense. Because in the entirety of recorded history, there has Never been an instance of two people having the same, or similar, ideas.
Fun fact: that Tales From the Crypt ep is NOT the first time this concept has appeared in fiction/TV/Movies. For extra bonus points, provide the previous example(s). Go!
Yep.
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Wow. I have no clue. Please edumacate me.
In fact they have used it in real life well before any of that.
Like during the Second Parthian War, King Barsamia used scorpion-stuffed pots thrown at the enemy to defend the ancient Middle Eastern city of Hatra from the Romans. They also used bug bombs that contained rove beetles, who's hemolymph contains the compound pederin which causes dermatitis and blistering when it comes in contact with the skin, when warriors began smashing beetles thrown onto them they got itchy and blistery and where easier to attack.
Sending in Mosquitoes infected with malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, or yellow fever has been a tactic used before, unleashing swarms of bees into villages. The Black Death in the 14th century which swept through Europe, the Near East, and North Africa that was caused by fleas is said have started due to an entomological warfare attack on the Crimean city of Kaff and in World War II Japan used plague-infected fleas and flies covered with cholera to infect the population in China. North Korean and Chinese officials have said that during the Korean War the United States engaged in entomological warfare, the USA experimented with it during the Cold War as well, as did Russia however there's was more to do with wiping out crops.
So any of the stories that come up in shows and movies are generally based on that history and an extension to that, so basically in the instance of The Blacklist it flows with the conspiracy theory side of the story surrounding The Cabal (as the USA have experimented with it before and is something they may do).
The USA instances:
https://infogalactic.com/info/Operation_Big_Itch
https://infogalactic.com/info/Operation_Big_Buzz
https://infogalactic.com/info/Operation_May_Day
https://infogalactic.com/info/Operation_Drop_Kick