Cochineal, a dyestuff employed in dyeing scarlet and crimson, and in the preparation of the pigments Carmine and Lake (q.v.).
a, living on cactus (Opuntia); b, male; c, female.
Cochineal consists simply of the bodies of the females of a species of Coccus (q.v.), called C. cacti, because it feeds upon plants of the Cactus family, particularly on one, therefore designated the cochineal plant, but known in Mexico as the Nopal (Opuntia coccinellifera), figured in the article