Cochineal insects are soft-bodied, flat, oval-shaped scale insects. The females, wingless and about 5 mm (0.20 in) long, cluster on cactus pads. They penetrate the cactus with their beak-like mouthparts and feed on its juices, remaining immobile unless alarmed. After mating, the fertilised female increases in size and gives birth to tiny nymphs.

Cochineal, a tiny, cactus-dwelling insect that produces a vibrant red pigment, was harvested for thousands of years by Indigenous peoples to produce a dye for their own textiles. Following the Spanish invasion of the Americas, cochineal ultimately became a globally traded commodity.

Aug 25, 2022 · Cochineal is a brilliant red dye extracted from the crushed bodies of parasitic insects which prey on cacti in the warmer parts of the Americas. The dye was an important part of trade in ancient Mesoamerica and South America and throughout the colonial era when its use spread worldwide.

Cochineal, Dactylopius coccus, is a small scale insect native to subtropical South America through the Southwest United States that lives in stationary clumps on nopal, prickly pear cacti of the genus Opuntia.

Dactylopius is a genus of insect in the superfamily Coccoidea, the scale insects. It is the only genus in the family Dactylopiidae. [1] . These insects are known commonly as cochineals, [2][3] a name that also specifically refers to the best-known species, the cochineal (Dactylopius coccus).

Mar 8, 2025 · Cochineal, red dyestuff consisting of the dried, pulverized bodies of certain female scale insects, Dactylopius coccus, of the Coccidae family, cactus-eating insects native to tropical and subtropical America. Cochineal is used to produce …

Jan 13, 2022 · What’s cochineal and what was it used for? Cochineal, also known as grana cochinilla, is a natural pigment of pre-Hispanic origin that later became an international product. It was the most exported dye from New Spain during the 16th century, after gold and silver.

The meaning of COCHINEAL is a red dye consisting of the dried bodies of female cochineal insects.

Sep 30, 2024 · The cochineal (/kɒtʃᵻˈniːl/ koch-i-NEEL or /ˈkɒtʃᵻniːl/ KOCH-i-neel; Dactylopius coccus) is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived.

Cochineal is the name used to describe both the colour and its raw material source, the dried pregnant females of Dactylopius species of insects, especially D. coccus Costa. The process begins with drying cochineal female insects, which reduces the weight by 70 % Between 80 000 and 150 000 insects are required to produce 1 kg of dried cochineal.