The cochineal is a tiny insect deeply rooted in the history of Oaxaca, Mexico. Female cochineals spend most of their lives with their heads buried in juicy cactus pads, eating and growing. After ...

Cochineal’s significance as a red dye has guided human history in the Americas and beyond. So first, what is cochineal? Cochineal is the name of the insect and the red dye that is made from it.

Scientists Are Making Cochineal, a Red Dye From Bugs, in the Lab Used to color foods and cosmetics, carminic acid is traditionally ‘farmed’ from an insect.

Cochineal extract, also known as carmine, natural red 4, or E120, is a natural dye derived from the cochineal bug. Despite its “icky” origins, this FDA-approved additive is widely used for its ...

A: Cochineal scale insects (Dactylopius species) suck sap from prickly pear cacti and large populations can reduce the vigor of the plants.Treating them is optional. They are noticeable due to the ...

She squished a cochineal growth, then proceeded to slowly smear it across her lips, like lipstick. ‘I am Mexican,’ she told me. ‘This is what we have always used it for.’ ...

The cochineal (koh-chin-eel) bug (Dactylopius coccus) is a scale insect that lives on cactuses in the Southwestern United States and South America. The shell of the female cochineal contains a vibrant ...

Well, cochineal is a small little bug that grows on cactus,” said Treviño When the Spaniards invaded what is now Mexico and conquered the Aztecs in the early 1500s, they were astonished by the ...

"The cochineal insect affects the prickly pear tree. As you can see, the trees are dying, and consequently, we are losing the essence of things, which is the cultivation of prickly pears," he said.

Since Pre-Hispanic times the cochineal insect has been used as a natural colorant by indigenous peoples from the Americas. This installation explores the enduring legacy of the cochineal and its ...