OBERA, Argentina -- The stress of living in this economically hobbled nation can wear a body down. So Ruben Dieminger takes strong measures to boost his immune system.

Prying open a plastic container that holds a wriggling mass of small brown beetles, Mr. Dieminger shook about a dozen into a glass of lemon-flavored soft drink. Then he lifted the glass to his lips, and ... chug-a-bug.

"That's what I needed," he said.

Mr. Dieminger, 40 years old, is among a growing number of Argentines who maintain that there are times that everyone needs a dose of this Asian bug, known to scientists as ulomoides dermestoides and to laymen as the darkling beetle. According to beetle-eating proponents, secretions from the insect strengthen the body's defenses against cancer, AIDS, asthma and diabetes, among other ills.

People generally consume the beetles by dropping them in a glass of water, mixing them into yogurt or placing them in capsules. Mr. Dieminger advises adherents to start by swallowing a single beetle and then building up their intake to 70 a day. The pea-sized bugs are eaten live.