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Cochineal

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Insects, Reptiles and
Fish

                   iCochineal
   Female (left) and male (right) Cochineals.
   Female (left) and male (right) Cochineals.
           Scientific classification

   Domain:  Eukaryota
   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Arthropoda
   Class:   Insecta
   Order:   Hemiptera
   Family:  Dactylopiidae
   Genus:   Dactylopius
   Species: D. coccus

                                Binomial name

   Dactylopius coccus
   Costa, 1835

                                  Synonyms

   Coccus cacti Linnaeus, 1758
   Pseudococcus cacti Burmeister, 1839

   Cochineal is the name of both an expensive crimson or carmine dye and
   the cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus), from which the dye is
   derived. The cochineal insect is a scale insect in the suborder
   Sternorrhyncha, native to tropical and subtropical South America and
   Mexico.

   The cochineal insect, a primarily sessile parasite, lives on cacti from
   the genus Opuntia, feeding on moisture and nutrients in the cacti. The
   insect produces carminic acid to deter predation by other insects.
   Carminic acid can be extracted from the insect's body and eggs to make
   the dye. Cochineal is primarily used as a food colouring and for
   cosmetics.

   After synthetic pigments and dyes such as alizarin were invented in the
   late 19th century, natural-dye production gradually diminished.
   However, current health concerns over artificial food additives have
   renewed the popularity of cochineal dyes, and the increased demand has
   made cultivation of the insect profitable again.

History

   The cochineal dye was used by the Aztec and Maya peoples of Central and
   North America. Eleven cities conquered by Montezuma in the 15th century
   paid a yearly tribute of 2000 decorated cotton blankets and 40 bags of
   cochineal dye each. During the colonial period the production of
   cochineal (grana fina) grew rapidly. Produced almost exclusively in
   Oaxaca, Mexico by indigenous producers, cochineal became Mexico's
   second most valued export after silver. The dyestuff was consumed
   throughout Europe and was so highly prized that its price was regularly
   quoted on the London and Amsterdam Commodity Exchanges.

   After the Mexican War of Independence in 1810– 1821, the Mexican
   monopoly on cochineal came to an end. Large scale production of
   cochineal emerged especially in Guatemala and the Canary Islands. The
   demand for cochineal fell sharply with the appearance on the market of
   alizarin crimson and many other artificial dyes discovered in Europe in
   the middle of the 19th century, causing a significant financial shock
   in Spain as a major industry almost ceased to exist. The delicate
   manual labor required for the breeding of the insect could not compete
   with the modern methods of the new industry and even less so with the
   lowering of production costs. The "tuna blood" dye stopped being used
   and trade in cochineal almost totally disappeared in the course of the
   20th century. The breeding of the cochineal insect has been done mainly
   for the purposes of maintaining the tradition rather than to satisfy
   any sort of demand.

   In recent years it has become commercially valuable again, though most
   consumers are unaware that the 'artificial colouring' refers to a dye
   that is derived from an insect, at least for the red that is used
   within the product. One reason for its popularity is that, unlike many
   commercial synthetic red dyes, it is not toxic or carcinogenic.
   However, the dye can induce an anaphylactic-shock reaction in a small
   number of people.

Biology

   Cochineal insects are soft-bodied, flat, oval-shaped scale insects. The
   females, wingless and about 5 mm (0.2 in) long, cluster on cactus pads.
   They penetrate the cactus with their beaklike mouthparts and feed on
   its juices, remaining immobile. After mating, the fertilized female
   increases in size and gives birth to tiny nymphs. The nymphs secrete a
   waxy white substance over their bodies for protection from water and
   excessive sun. This substance makes the cochineal insect appear white
   or grey from the outside, though the body of the insect and its nymphs
   produces the red pigment, which makes the insides of the insect look
   dark purple. Adult males can be distinguished from females by their
   diminutive size and their wings.

   It is in the nymph stage (also called the crawler stage) that the
   cochineal disperses. The juveniles move to a feeding spot and produce
   long wax filaments. Later they move to the edge of the cactus pad where
   the wind catches the wax filaments and carries the cochineals to a new
   host. These individuals establish feeding sites on the new host and
   produce a new generation of cochineals. Male nymphs feed on the cactus
   until they reach sexual maturity; when they mature they cannot feed at
   all and live only long enough to fertilise the eggs. They are therefore
   seldom observed.

Host cacti

   Cochineal-infested pads of the cactus Opuntia indicamil.
   Enlarge
   Cochineal-infested pads of the cactus Opuntia indicamil.

   Cochineals are native to tropical and subtropical South America and
   Mexico, where their host cacti grow natively. They have been introduced
   to Spain, the Canary Islands, Algiers and Australia along with their
   host cacti. There are 150 species of Opuntia cacti, and while it is
   possible to cultivate cochineal on almost all of them, the best to use
   is Opuntia ficus-indica. All of the host plants of cochineal colonies
   were identified as species of Opuntia including Opuntia amyclaea, O.
   atropes, O. cantabrigiensis, O. brasilienis, O. ficus-indica, O.
   fuliginosa, O. jaliscana, O. leucotricha, O. lindheimeri, O.
   microdasys, O. megacantha, O. pilifera, O. robusta, O. sarca, O.
   schikendantzii, O. stricta, O. streptacantha, and O. tomentosa. Feeding
   cochineals can damage the cacti, sometimes killing their host.

Farming

   There are two methods of farming cochineal: traditional and controlled.
   Cochineals are farmed in the traditional method by planting infected
   cactus pads or infecting existing cacti with cochineals and harvesting
   the insects by hand. The controlled method uses small baskets called
   Zapotec nests placed on host cacti. The baskets contain clean, fertile
   females which leave the nests and settle on the cactus to await
   insemination by the males. In both cases the cochineals have to be
   protected from predators, cold and rain. The complete cycle lasts 3
   months during which the cacti are kept at a constant temperature of 27
   °C. Once the cochineals have finished the cycle, the new cochineals are
   ready to begin the cycle again or to be dried for dye production.
   Zapotec nests on Opuntia indicamil host cacti
   Enlarge
   Zapotec nests on Opuntia indicamil host cacti

   To produce dye from cochineals, the insects are collected when they are
   approximately ninety days old. Harvesting the insects is
   labor-intensive as they must be individually knocked, brushed or picked
   from the cacti and placed into bags. The insects are gathered by small
   groups of collectors who sell them to local processors or exporters.

   Several natural enemies can reduce the population of the insect on its
   cacti hosts. Of all the predators, insects seem to be the most
   important group. Insects and their larvae such as the weaver worm,
   pyralid moth (order Lepidoptera), lady bug ( Coleoptera), fly, drum
   worm (both Diptera), needle worm ( Neuroptera) and ant (Hymenoptera)
   have been identified. Many birds; human- commensal rodents, especially
   rats; and reptiles also prey on cochineal insects. In regions dependent
   on cochineal production, pest control measures have to be taken
   seriously. For small-scale cultivation manual methods of control have
   proved to be the most effective and safe. For large-scale cultivation
   advanced pest control methods have to be developed, including
   alternative bioinsecticides or traps with pheromones.

Dye

   A deep crimson dye is extracted from the female cochineal insects.
   Cochineal is used to produce scarlet, orange and other red tints too.
   The colouring comes from carminic (kermesic) acid. Cochineal extract's
   natural carminic-acid content is usually 19–22%. The insects are killed
   by immersion in hot water (after which they are dried) or by exposure
   to sunlight, steam, or the heat of an oven. Each method produces a
   different colour which results in the varied appearance of commercial
   cochineal. The insects must be dried to about 30 percent of their
   original body weight before they can be stored without decaying. It
   takes about 155,000 insects to make one kilogram of cochineal.

   There are two principal forms of cochineal dye: cochineal extract is a
   colouring made from the raw dried and pulverised bodies of insects, and
   carmine is a more purified colouring made from the cochineal. To
   prepare carmine, the powdered insect bodies are boiled in ammonia or a
   sodium carbonate solution, the insoluble matter is removed by
   filtering, and alum is added to the clear salt solution of carminic
   acid to precipitate the red aluminium salt. Purity of colour is ensured
   by the absence of iron. Stannous chloride, citric acid, borax, or
   gelatin may be added to regulate the formation of the precipitate. For
   shades of purple, lime is added to the alum.

   As of 2005, Peru produced 200 tonnes of cochineal dye per year and the
   Canary Islands produced 20 tonnes per year. Chile and Mexico have also
   recently begun to export cochineal. France is believed to be the
   world's largest importer of cochineal; Japan and Italy also import the
   insect. Much of these imports are processed and reexported to other
   developed economies. As of 2005, the market price of cochineal was
   between 50 and 80 USD per kilogram, while synthetic raw food dyes are
   available at prices as low as 10–20 USD per kilogram.

Usage

   Wool dyed with cochineal
   Enlarge
   Wool dyed with cochineal

   Traditionally cochineal was used for colouring fabrics. During the
   colonial period, with the introduction of sheep to Latin America, the
   use of cochineal increased, as it provided the most intense colour and
   it set more firmly on woolen garments than on clothes made of materials
   of pre-Hispanic origin such as cotton, agave fibers and yucca fibers.
   Once the European market had discovered the qualities of this product,
   their demand for it increased dramatically. Carmine became strong
   competition for other colourants such as madder root, kermes,
   brazilwood, and Tyrian purple, as they were used for dyeing the clothes
   of kings, nobles and the clergy. It was also used for painting,
   handicrafts and tapestries. Cochineal-coloured wool and cotton are
   still important materials for Mexican folk art and crafts.

   Now it is used as a fabric and cosmetics dye and as a natural food
   colouring, as well as for oil paints, pigments and watercolours. When
   used as a food additive, the dye must be labelled on packaging labels.
   Sometimes carmine is labelled as E120 An unknown percentage of people
   have been found to have allergies to carmine, ranging from mild cases
   of hives to anaphylactic shock. Carmine has been found to cause asthma
   in some people. Cochineal is one of the colours that the Hyperactive
   Children's Support Group recommends be eliminated from the diet of
   hyperactive children. Natural carmine dye used in food and cosmetics
   can render it unacceptable to strict vegetarian consumers, and both
   Muslims and Jews consider carmine-containing food forbidden ( haraam
   and non- kosher) because the dye is extracted from insects.

   Cochineal is one of the few water-soluble colourants that resist
   degradation with time. It is one of the most light- and heat-stable and
   oxidation-resistant of all the natural colourants and is even more
   stable than many synthetic food colours. The water-soluble form is used
   in alcoholic drinks with calcium carmine; the insoluble form is used in
   a wider variety of products. Together with ammonium carmine they can be
   found in meat, sausages, processed poultry products (meat products
   cannot be coloured in the United States unless they are labeled as
   such), surimi, marinades, alcoholic drinks, bakery products and
   toppings, cookies, desserts, icings, pie fillings, jams, preserves,
   gelatin desserts, juice beverages, varieties of cheddar cheese and
   other dairy products, sauces and sweets. Cochineal gives Campari and
   other Italian apéritifs their colour, too. The average human consumes
   one to two drops of carminic acid each year with food.

   Carmine is one of the very few pigments considered safe enough for use
   in eye cosmetics. A significant proportion of the insoluble carmine
   pigment produced is used in the cosmetics industry for hair- and
   skin-care products, lipsticks, face powders, rouges, and blushes. A
   bright red dye and the stain carmine used in microbiology is often made
   from the carmine extract, too. The pharmaceutical industry uses
   cochineal to colour pills and ointments. Cochineal is also used in
   dying red Smarties.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochineal"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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