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Cochineal
- PBMG
- Feb 6
- 2 min read
By Debbie Rowland and Emmy Ulmschneider, Master Gardeners
Have you ever heard of cochineal? And I am not referring to the upscale restaurant in Marfa, Texas, but to the small, scale insect native to our area. This insect lives on nopal, prickly pear, Opuntia spp. and even if you have seen it, you might not recognize it for what it is or its significance to world history. But if you are a fiber arts person, you might have worked with the dye made from this insect. And if you have eaten a product that lists carmine as an ingredient, you have tasted it. 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. The cochineal insect feeds upon the Opuntia pads where the female spends its whole life. You recognize its presence by the white, cottony webbing which serves as sun protection and camouflage. For an introduction to this insect try https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuGfWVBjOxU
Across civilizations, the color red has always had great significance as a symbol of power, wealth, and authority. Early Mayan and Aztec civilizations saw red as the color of the gods and farmed this insect for its valuable dye for fabric and food. Arriving in the New World in 1500, the Spanish found that red was the color of the “gold” they sought as nobility, clergy and the military around the world sought out the color red. Even our early history was colored by the British redcoats! The Spanish controlled this new source of a superior, bright, long lasting red color until the 18th century, when its true source, the cochineal, was “discovered” and people across the world started farming the insect that produced this valuable dye. The cochineal and its host, Opuntia spread around the world. The advent of synthetic dyes in the 19th century replaced cochineal as a major fabric and food dye. It is still farmed today principally in Peru and the Canary Islands. And if you have ever eaten a food product that lists carmine or cochineal extract, you have actually had a taste of history. For a history try https://hmsc.harvard.edu/online-exhibits/cochineal1/product-nature/
Fiber artists around the world still use cochineal as a dye. As a dye, the female cochineal insect is harvested, killed, and sun or oven dried. The insects are small, so it takes roughly 70,000 insects to make a pound of dye. But the dye is commercially available.
Here in our area, you can step back in history by just going outside! On a nature walk or a walk through a garden with Opuntia, look for the characteristic woolly, white patches on the Opuntia pads. If you spot a red color, get out your magnifying glass or hand lens and look closely for a look back through history.
If you have questions, call the AgriLife office in Odessa at 498-4071 or in Midland at 686-4700. Additional information, and our blog for access to past articles, is available at westtexasgardening.org. Click on “Resources”.
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