cochineal insect

American  

noun

1. any of various small red scale insects of the family Dactylopiidae, related to the mealybugs and characterized by an oval segmented body with white waxy plates and short legs and antennae: the source of cochineal.

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Etymology

Origin of cochineal insect

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

Scarlet could not be obtained, but was yielded by the cochineal insect.

From History of Phoenicia by Rawlinson, George

Artificial naphthol-scarlet is abolishing the culture of the cochineal insect.

From An Introduction to Chemical Science by Williams, Rufus Phillips

At the time of our visit there were about thirty acres of land planted with cactus, and the "seed" of the cochineal insect was expected from the Canary Islands.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume I (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Scherzer, Karl Ritter von

Most of our domesticated animals have given rise to numerous and distinct races, but those which cannot be easily subjected to selection must be excepted—such as cats, the cochineal insect, and the hive-bee.

From The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication — Volume 2 by Darwin, Charles

The cochineal insect of Mexico and Central America is solely nurtured by the native growth of cacti.

From Aztec Land by Ballou, Maturin Murray