the insect dyes are parastic scales, a bizarre group of natural dyes which yields a brilliant pallette of red, orange, purple and black.

dried Cochineal

cochineal (Dactylopius cocci) is an insect which lives on species of Opuntia cactus. widely treasured in pre-Colombian America, cochineal today is 'farmed' on large cactus plantations in Mexico, Guatemala and the Canary Is. the dye found in the body of the immobile female insect is polychromatic, producing various colors determined by dye process.

Cochineal insects on Opuntia Cactus, Teneriffe

Kermes (Kermes vermillio , Kermes palestinensis) are insects much like Cochineal from the Medditerranean Region which parasitise several species of dryland oak shrubs, Quercus coccifera and Quercus ilex. brilliant red dye is extracted from the shell of the immobile female insects, which huddle in gangs on the wood. collected and used since ancient times, this color once was known as the 'King's red' and treasured also as a painter's pigment. Kermes is no longer widely avaliable.

Kermes sp. collected in Turkey

An insect called Polish Cochineal, (Porphyrophora polonica) lives on the roots of a wild herb, Scleranthus perennis and was used through the Middle Ages in the Ukraine, Lithuania and Eastern Europe as a suppliment or replacement for the much more expensive Kermesred. the unavailability of this dyestuff today and the comparative rarity of the plant species itself may be related to the fact that this dye was extensively harvested for several hundred years. the bugs are collected by uprooting the plants and these do not tolerate transplanting.

In SouthEast Asia the gummi lac insect provides a red dye for textiles and painting. this insect, Kerria lacca, lives on diverse trees, including Butea, Zizyphus, Acacia and Ficus. the insect also exudes a glassy resin which is the source of the original lac, natural lacquer for wood.