Dyeing Insect

Cochineal is the name of the tiny insect (about 1/4 inch or 5 cm oval)that I used to dye this yarn. The insect, which lives on a type of opuntia cactus, is the source for a brilliant red dye that was greatly prized by Europe's nobility beginning in the colonial period.

The type of Opuntia cactus are the ones that have the large "paddles", called nopales, that are commonly eaten in Mexico. The fruits of the cactus, called tuna in Mexico, are also very popular. You may know them as cactus apples or cactus pears, or some other name.

The Aztec and Maya people used the dye long before the Spaniards came, and after the conquest of Mexico, Spain developed a thriving business exporting/importing (in many cases smuggling) the dye into Europe.

To make the dye, the insects are dried and ground into powder. Their bodies contain carminic acid, which holds the red color. Today the cochineal is often used to color cosmetics, especially lipstick, after it was discovered that the synthetic red dyes are carcinogenic.

Oaxaca was the primary area of Mexico for cochineal production, and I visited a little cochineal farm there. They had a small field of cactus plnts. some with the insects on them, but most were on the nopales that were "planted" in boxes of sandy soil inside screened-in buildings. When it's time to harvest, after the female lays eggs, the farmer picks the insects off the cactus and lays them on a flat pan to dry in the sun.

I read a very interesting book about the history of the cochineal and the Spaniards. A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire by Amy Greenfield.