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Creature of the month: Cochineal bug

November 8, 2024

Hi guys! ralf here! I intended to release this last October, but I got so caught up in my long weekend (also my computer broke) that I forgot to upload this blog! Anyways , I decided to honor the bug that dyed foods, clothes, and many other things with a beautiful shade of red that is sure to be eye-popping! let’s give it up for………… the cochineal bug!

The cochineal bug is a lovely pinhead-sized, oval-shaped bug that lives in Oaxaca, mexico. A mountainous area bejeweled by precious minerals, with well weathered spurs and foothills. Its population is diverse , and a large concentration of its indigenous population relies on subsistence farming for their livelihoods

It also produces lots of foodstuffs, which includes cactuses, which is the center of the cochineal bug’s diet.

They hook into the cactus pads, and then dine. they stay like this for most of their lives, and by they, I mean the females. the males cocoon after a few weeks whilst the females continue growing wax filaments on their bodies. Once they get out of their cocoons, they start crawling and once every blue moon , flying to other females.

Once they are done, and once time has passed, the females lay eggs that hatch immediately, like, I'm not even kidding, those things come out of their soft eggshells with a thirst for life and cactus juice

and the cycle repeats again, if they aren't harvested.

Cochineal bugs make an awesome red that has long been used in rituals by maya and aztecs, not just in clothes and food, which is why they’ve been harvested for thousands of years.

Honestly, I think that the red dye they make is what i really like about them! they helped dye a lot of food and clothes, and helped in rituals, which is really neat!

Anyways, thank you for reading

see you on the other side!

-Ralf

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