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 extract has a rich history dating back to the Aztecs, who first discovered its use for creating vibrant red dyes. When the Spanish arrived in the Americas, they capitalized on this ...

“In the 1500s, Spaniards documented widespread cochineal harvesting [of the insects] in the New World along with the preparation and trade of the dye.” Per ThoughtCo, “Today, cochineal ...

The extract of cochineal tends to come up a lot. The cochineal bugs—a species of scale insect—are a centuries-old colorant. In the 19th century, chemists figured out how to make a synthetic ...

The insects used to make carmine are called cochineal, and are native to Latin America where they live on cacti. Now farmed mainly in Peru, millions of the tiny insects are harvested every year to ...

Oh, and it's made from squashed bugs. Squashed female cochineal bugs, to be specific. They're tick-sized critters native to Mesoamerica where they suck the juice from prickly pear cactuses.

But today, Peru dominates the market, and Mexico’s cochineal farms are disappearing. More from Big Business Cochineals are tiny bugs that live on prickly pear cactuses. The acid in their guts ...

4. Place the remainder of the water in the “rinse” cup. 5. Arrange the bowl and spoon (or mortar and pestle), paper, paintbrushes, and dried cochineal bugs near the cups. Crush the bug into a fine ...

In southern Spain, the plants are being devastated by the cochineal beetle. But the picture there is mirrored across other regions of the world. As Anton Brugger strides purposefully around his ...