Cochineal
The cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is made.
The insect lives in tropical and subtropical South America, Mexico and Arizona. Its larvae eat cacti in the genus Opuntia, feeding on plant moisture and nutrients. These insects are found on the pads of prickly pear cacti, then are brushed off and dried.
The insect produces carminic acid, which deters predation by other insects. Carminic acid is extracted from the body and eggs, then mixed with aluminium or calcium salts to make carmine dye, also known as cochineal. Today, carmine is primarily used as a colorant in food and in lipstick.
+{{{1}}}−{{{2}}}
Cochineal Media
Chemical structure of carminic acid, the predator-deterring substance found in high concentration in cochineal insects: The insoluble aluminium and calcium salts of this acid form red and purple dyes called "carmine".
Dactylopius coccus growing in Barlovento, La Palma, Canary Islands
Cochineal on opuntia in California
Cochineals on cacti in La Palma, Canary Islands
Wool dyed with cochineal
Mexican Indian Collecting Cochineal with a Deer Tail by José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez (1777). The host plant is a prickly pear.
Cochineal use in histology: Carmine staining of a monogenean (parasitic worm)
_04_ies.jpg)
