cochineal

[the first letter ‘c’ rhymes with the letter ‘k’ as in “king”; and the second ‘c’ with ‘h’ rhymes with the letters ‘ch’ in “church”]

(also ‘cochineal insect’, ‘cochineal beetle’ and ‘cochineal bug’)

a kind of insect – belongs to beetles – small, soft, flat body with a waxy shell covering called ‘scale’; the female, wingless, grows to 0.2 inches (5 mm) in length, male, with wings, is even smaller; feeds on (eats/drinks) the juices of cactus plants; originally from Mexico, but now bred in several parts of the world

Special Features:

These insects produce a kind of woolly or waxy substance (also called ‘cochineal fungus’) to protect themselves from other insects and heat.

The most important feature is that a kind of red (deep crimson or scarlet) dye (colour), also called ‘cochineal’ (carmine), a kind of pigment in the bodies of females, nymphs and eggs, taken out (extracted) by boiling or drying these insects, is used as a natural colouration to the foods, especially alcoholic drinks!

This colour is supposed to be safer than the synthetic colours.

This insect and its dye were known to and used by Aztec and Mayan civilisations hundred years ago.

And the red “royal” colour (dye) was used to dye the clothes in the past, and is still used in the art and crafts of the Mexicans to this day.

In modern societies, this dye (cochineal/carmine) is used to colour (dye) the clothes, foods and drinks, in cosmetics, as well as in making oil paints, pigments and water colours.

For an interesting article on cochineal and cochineal colour, please click here, and for an informative article on cochineal dye, please click here.