Source of Red Dye from Cacti: Cochineal Insects on Opuntia

Red dye from cacti comes not from the plant but from cochineal insects (Dactylopius coccus) infesting Opuntia. Females (red, 3mm) are scraped off, dried, and processed for carmine pigment. Historically vital until aniline dyes (1875). Infested pads show white cottony wax. Insects weaken but rarely kill the host. Traditional Mexican cultivation: inoculate plants, harvest mature insects continuously. A pest became a commodity—nature's irony.