Cochineal
<p >The <b>cochineal</b> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >/kɒtʃɨˈniːl/</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Pronunciation_respelling_key" title="Wikipedia:Pronunciation respelling key" ><i>koch-i-<b>neel</b></i></a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >/ˈkɒtʃɨniːl/</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Pronunciation_respelling_key" title="Wikipedia:Pronunciation respelling key" ><i><b>koch</b>-i-neel</i></a>; <i>Dactylopius coccus</i>) is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_insect" title="Scale insect" >scale insect</a> in the suborder<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sternorrhyncha" title="Sternorrhyncha" >Sternorrhyncha</a>, from which the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson" title="Crimson" >crimson</a>-coloured <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_dye" title="Natural dye" >dye</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine" title="Carmine" >carmine</a>is derived. A primarily <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sessility_(zoology)" title="Sessility (zoology)" >sessile</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite" title="Parasite" class="mw-redirect" >parasite</a> native to tropical and subtropical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_America" title="South America" >South America</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico" title="Mexico" >Mexico</a>, this insect lives on<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cactus" title="Cactus" >cacti</a> in the genus <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia" title="Opuntia" >Opuntia</a></i>, feeding on plant moisture and nutrients.
The insect produces <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carminic_acid" title="Carminic acid" >carminic acid</a> that deters predation by other insects. Carminic acid, typically 17–24% of dried insects' weight, can be extracted from the body and eggs then mixed with aluminum or calcium salts to make carmine dye (also known as cochineal).<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochineal#cite_note-0" >[1]</a></sup> Carmine is today primarily used as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_colouring" title="Food colouring" class="mw-redirect" >food colouring</a> and for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmetics" title="Cosmetics" >cosmetics</a>.
The carmine dye was used in Central America in the 15th century for colouring fabrics and became an important export good during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Latin_America" title="History of Latin America" >colonial period</a>. After synthetic pigments and dyes such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alizarin" title="Alizarin" >alizarin</a> were invented in the late 19th century, natural-dye production gradually diminished. Health fears over artificial food additives, however, have renewed the popularity of cochineal dyes, and the increased demand has made cultivation of the insect profitable again,<sup id="cite_ref-mex_1-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochineal#cite_note-mex-1" >[2]</a></sup> with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peru" title="Peru" >Peru</a> being the largest exporter. Some towns in the state of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oaxaca" title="Oaxaca" >Oaxaca</a> (in Mexico) are still working in hand-made textiles.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochineal#cite_note-2" >[3]</a></sup>
There are other species in the genus <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dactylopius&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Dactylopius (page does not exist)" >Dactylopius</a></i> that can be used to produce cochineal extract, but they are extremely difficult to distinguish from <i>D. coccus</i>, even for expert taxonomists, and the latter scientific name (and the vernacular "cochineal insect") is therefore commonly used when one is actually referring to other biological species. The primary biological distinctions between species are minor differences in host plant preferences, in addition to very different geographic distributions.</p>