if anyone could answer two random Chinese history questions for me, I'd be grateful.
When did the cochineal scale insect, from which red dyes have so long been made, get to China?
What did the Chinese do for red dye before cochineal got there?
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For the second parasite for #InsertAnInvert2024 I’m sharing the source of carmine, a bright red pigment derived from carminic acid. It’s traditionally harvested from cochineal, a sessile parasite on Opuntia cacti in South America, north through to Mexico and the southwest US. They are laboriously collected by brushing them off the pads of prickly pear cacti. 
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Last but not least, for watercolor, Schmincke produces an authentic version of carmine. It’s crazy expensive but I’m sure a little goes a long way?
(Buyer beware, authentic carmine is a fugitive color, ie not lightfast)
shop.stlartsupply.comSchmincke Horadam Watercolors, Genuine Cochineal Red (Limited Edition)
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And in case you’re wondering where to find the cochineal insects, they conveniently live en masse on the types of cactus paddles seen here in the foreground.
(The carpet in the background is made entirely of cochineal-dyed yarn.)
Cocaine worth £450m found in cargo of bananas at Southampton Port - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-68374650
#Drugs
#Cochineal
#Bananas
#Southampton
#NationalCrimeAgency
#NCA
#BorderForce
BBC NewsCocaine worth £450m found in cargo of bananas at Southampton PortThe 5.7 tonnes of the Class A drug is the largest by weight ever found in the UK, officials say.
The last week of 2023 is #invertefest so I’m sharing a recent print I made about carmine, a bright red pigment derived from carminic acid, traditionally harvested from cochineal, a sessile parasite on Opuntia cacti in South America, north through to Mexico & the southwest US. They are laboriously collected by brushing them off the pads of prickly pear cacti.
Cochineal in watercolor
Today’s #SciArtSeptember theme is carmine. The red dye carmine is made from this insect.
#watercolor #watercolour #insect #insects #carmine #cochineal
Today’s #SciArtSeptember theme is carmine. The red dye carmine is made from this insect.
#watercolor #watercolour #insect #insects #carmine #cochineal
The #SciArtSeptember prompt is carmine, a bright red pigment derived from carminic acid, traditionally harvested from cochineal, a sessile parasite on Opuntia cacti in South America, north through to Mexico and the southwest US. They are laboriously collected by brushing them off the pads of prickly pear cacti. The insect makes carminic acid to deter predators but it’s precisely what attracts people,…
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#cochineal #insects are doing great, if anyone is making wool uniforms for British soldiers looking to occupy Boston and needs some red dye, let me know. #redcoats #gardening #dye
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#cochineal bugs were the main source of red dye back in Colonial times. "The Redcoats Are Coming" were really "guys in coats dyed in cactus bugs" are coming. #cactus #dye https://research.colonialwilliamsburg.org/foundation/journal/summer12/dye.cfm
research.colonialwilliamsburg.orgPutting the Red in Redcoats | The Colonial Williamsburg Official History & Citizenship SiteColonial Williamsburg - Experience life in the 18th century at America's largest outdoor history museum.
#Carmine, also called #cochineal, is a pigment of a bright-red color obtained from the aluminium complex derived from carminic acid.
Synthetic carminic acid is complex to produce. Therefore, natural cochineal carmine is predominant on the market.
To prepare carmine, powdered scale insect bodies are boiled in an ammonia or sodium carbonate solution. #Gelatin may be added to modify the precipitation.
To obtain 1 pound of red dye, one needs 70,000 cochineal bugs.
https://lateboomersden.blog/2023/03/30/eaten-any-cochineal-bugs-recently/
Sometimes "natural" means made out of bugs (better that than some petroleum product) 
#cactus, #carmine, #Cochineal, #dye, #insects, #Mexico, #PricklyPear
Late Boomer's DenEaten any cochineal bugs recently?
https://youtu.be/iBNySB2jpVg
A while back I posted a picture of a cactus with #cochineal bugs on it. This is an interesting video about traditional cochineal production in #Mexico. Kinda be a shame if it dies out. #cactus, #agriculture
https://www.businessinsider.com/cochineal-red-food-dye-industry-2023-1
“The most powerful, brilliant red dye in existence.”
This is a fascinating topic. I had no idea this type of #farming was in danger of dying out. It seems so counterproductive to industry. #cochineal #bugs #red #dye
Business InsiderWhy tiny cactus bugs in red food dye are a $35 billion industryCochineals are tiny bugs that live on prickly pear cactuses. They make a red dye used in textiles, cosmetics, and foods like M&Ms and Yoplait yogurt.
Happy #InverteFest! Starting with this fun chimera piece from 2021. The star of this show is #Cochineal, who I used to dye the mulberry silk-paper backdrop.
Here's some of my #handspun #yarn. It's from raw #cheviot #wool that I skirted, washed, combed, and #handspun. I made them into mini-skeins and then dyed them (right to left in the picture) with turmeric, #cochineal, #madder, marigolds, tea, a combo of the leftover marigold and some pomegranate on the tea base, and then two via a commercial tincture dip in green.
#ThomasJefferson was, in addition to being the third U.S. president, a slaveholder, and the writer of the Declaration of Independence, an avid #chess player.
Fragments of an #ivory #barleycorn-style chess set were discovered by archeologists examining the #Monticello midden heap. The black pieces are "stained red with #cochineal, a dye commonly used in the 18th and 19th centuries which is derived from the dried bodies of females of the scale insect Dactylopius coccus." https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/chess-set-english
Jefferson's granddaughter, Ellen Wayles Coolidge, recalled that Jefferson would play marathon four hour games against his friend and ally, #JamesMadison. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/9660
Image sources: monticello.org and chessantiques.com
Fragments of an #ivory #barleycorn-style chess set were discovered by archeologists examining the #Monticello midden heap. The black pieces are "stained red with #cochineal, a dye commonly used in the 18th and 19th centuries which is derived from the dried bodies of females of the scale insect Dactylopius coccus." https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/chess-set-english
Jefferson's granddaughter, Ellen Wayles Coolidge, recalled that Jefferson would play marathon four hour games against his friend and ally, #JamesMadison. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/9660
Image sources: monticello.org and chessantiques.com
