Cochineal

Cochineal (also cochenille, and in Latin: Coccus Cacti) are silvery grey, dried, female lice, that produce the natural bright-red dye carmine that can be used as pigment and for dying textiles. Until the discovery of synthetic dyes such as fuchsine in the 19th century, the natural organic dye carmine was one of the most important materials for dying textiles. With the beginning of the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 16th century, cochineal began to be exported to Europe where it was widely used and highly prized. The main components of the small cochineal insects, commonly called shield-louse, are carminic acid, kermes acid, and laccainic acid D. The insects remain unmovable on the Optunia cactuses they infest and there nourish the plant juice. The small parasites are brushed off the plants several times a year, and then dried. In Europe, the Canary Islands are an important supplier of cochineal. The cochineal from Kremer Pigmente, whose bodies are 18 to 22% carminic acid, also come from the Canaries.