The larvae and pupae of Diamphidia produce a toxin used by San people as an arrow poison.

[1][2] The Finnish explorer Hendrik Jacob Wikar, who travelled in Southern Africa in 1773–1779, described the larvae as "poisonous worms".

As the larval instars develop, the pellets of their own faeces remain attached to their backs and posteriors.

The Diamphidia larvae burrow down for a depth of up to 1 metre in the sand under the food plant, where they may lie dormant for several years before going through a very rapid pupal phase.

Diamphotoxin, the poisonous compound in Diamphidia, is highly labile, and has a low molecular weight.