Why must US labels name carmine or cochineal extract?

To help people who are allergic to it

Cochineal

Dactylopius coccus

The cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) is a small scale insect that lives on prickly pear cacti and sucks their sap. The wingless adult female is about 6 mm long and dusted with white wax, but her body is packed with carminic acid, a red chemical that puts ants off and gives the dye carmine (E120). Used in Mexico and the Andes long before Europeans arrived, it became one of New Spain’s most valuable exports and is still farmed today, mostly in Peru.

Also known as Cochineal insect, Carmine cochineal, Domesticated cochineal

Cochineal abilities

0.2–6.2% carminic acid strength that repels ants
Under the wax, a cochineal is soaked in carminic acid. In experiments, ants refused food laced with it, so scientists think it evolved as a chemical defence.
- In 1980, Thomas Eisner’s team showed that carminic acid is a strong feeding deterrent to ants.
- Some predators eat cochineals anyway and reuse the acid. Their defensive fluids hold 0.2–6.2% carminic acid, a strength proven to stop ants.
- It may also protect the insect against germs, but that idea is less tested.
Sources [3, 7, 12, 13]
11 species in the family, all wax-coated
A coat of white wax shields the cochineal from rain, drying out and desert heat while it sits still on its cactus.
- The wax protects the insect from losing water and from rain.
- In the Sonoran Desert, scientists found that the cottony wax of wild cochineals keeps them cooler than the cactus they sit on: the more wax, the cooler the insect.
- Ladybird larvae that eat cochineals sometimes hide inside the wax themselves.
Sources [1, 2, 3, 14]
80–90 days of feeding before a farm harvest
A cochineal pushes its long mouthparts into the cactus pad and drinks sap for the rest of its life.
- Cochineals drink from the phloem, the tubes that carry sugary sap around the cactus.
- On farms, the insects feed for about 80–90 days before they are harvested.
- Too many cochineals on one plant can drain and kill it.
Sources [2, 5, 10]
≈1 mm crawler length
Newly hatched crawlers are tiny and light. They wander off the mother and can be blown, washed or carried to new cacti.
- In the cactus cochineal, a close relative, crawlers are 0.83–1.11 mm long and bright red.
- Wind, water, birds, farm animals and people all help crawlers spread.
- The crawler is the stage that infests new plants. Once it finds a spot, it settles and stops wandering.
Sources [9]
14–26% of a dried female is carminic acid
X-ray the female and you find the famous red: carminic acid, made by the insect itself.
- In 2017, scientists found the cochineal’s own enzyme that carries out a key step in making carminic acid.
- About 80,000–100,000 females, collected before they lay eggs, make 1 kg of dye.
- Mixing the dye with different metals or acids changes the shade, from bright red to purple.
Sources [2, 5]
up to 355 eggs per female (close relative)
A mated female lays hundreds of eggs on her cactus pad, and tiny red crawlers soon hatch from them.
- In the cactus cochineal, a female laid up to 355 eggs at 32 °C.
- The eggs also contain carminic acid.
- Farmers place egg-laying females on fresh cactus pads to start a new crop of insects.
Sources [2, 9]
64–120 days to grow up
From a red dot smaller than a pinhead to a waxy 6 mm adult: watch a female grow on her cactus pad.
- Depending on temperature, growing up takes about 64–120 days.
- At the second stage, males and females start to look different. Males build cocoons and come out with two white wings.
- A male lives only a few days as a flying adult, just long enough to find females.
Sources [2, 9]

Tap a pin on the model or a part below.

11 cochineal species, all wax-coated
- A white, powdery wax covers the female and hides her red body, so a cochineal looks grey or white from the outside.
- The wax helps stop her drying out and keeps off rain.
- Wild cochineals wear thick, cottony wax. The farmed cochineal has much less, which makes it easier to hurt with bad weather and predators.
Sources [1, 2, 3]
6 mm long (adult female)
- An adult female is about 6 mm long, 4.5 mm wide and 4 mm high, and weighs around 45 mg.
- Like all female scale insects, she keeps a simple, young-looking body with no wings.
- Once she settles, she hardly moves again and spends her life fixed to one cactus pad.
Sources [2, 4, 5, 6]
14–26% of a dried female is carminic acid
- Squash a female and she turns bright red: her body fluids are full of carminic acid.
- Carminic acid is the source of the dyes called cochineal and carmine.
- Adult males make almost none. Only females are harvested for dye.
Sources [2, 5, 7]
- Cochineals are true bugs. They push long, thin mouthparts into the cactus and drink sap from its food-carrying tubes (the phloem).
- They feed only on prickly pear cacti in the genus Opuntia.
- When too many feed on one plant, they can kill it.
Sources [1, 2, 5]
- Scientists found fungi living in the cochineal’s gut, fat body and ovaries. Some were identical to fungi on the cactus, so the insects probably pick them up from their food.
- These fungi make enzymes that break down plant sugars and may help the cochineal digest its sap.
- Two kinds of Wolbachia bacteria also live inside Mexican cochineals and can make vitamin B2.
Sources [6, 8]
- Young cochineals, called crawlers, use their legs to walk to a good feeding spot.
- Once a crawler settles on the cactus pad, it becomes much less mobile.
- Scale insects that stay in one place have evolved smaller legs and other body parts, plus wax covers to protect them.
Sources [4, 9]
0.8–1.1 mm long (crawler of a close relative)
- Crawlers are the first, newly hatched stage. In a close relative, the cactus cochineal, they are bright red and only 0.83–1.11 mm long.
- Crawlers spread to new cacti with the wind, water, birds, farm animals and people.
- They are so small that a new infestation is very hard to spot.
Sources [9]
- Farmed cochineals live mainly on the prickly pear Opuntia ficus-indica, also called nopal.
- In Mexico and Peru, some farmers hang cut cactus pads in greenhouses so the insects are safe from rain, wind and strong sun.
- Far from home, cochineal can become a pest. In Tigray, Ethiopia, it has badly damaged cactus pear that people rely on for food, animal feed and fences.
Sources [3, 10, 11]

Real cochineals

Photos from Wikimedia Commons. Some of them can repaint the 3D model.

Adult femaleA round, wingless body about 6 mm long, dusted with white wax over a dark purplish-red body.About 45 mg · the only stage that makes lots of dyeCochineals on prickly pear at Teotihuacan, Mexico. Photo: Emőke Dénes, CC BY-SA 4.0
Adult femaleA round, wingless body about 6 mm long, dusted with white wax over a dark purplish-red body.About 45 mg · the only stage that makes lots of dyeCochineals in Urubamba, Peru, the country that grows most of the world’s supply. Photo: Jason Hollinger, CC BY 2.0
Adult femaleA round, wingless body about 6 mm long, dusted with white wax over a dark purplish-red body.About 45 mg · the only stage that makes lots of dyeFarmed cochineals in Guatiza, Lanzarote, Canary Islands. Photo: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cochineals in Barlovento, La Palma, Canary IslandsPhoto: Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cochineals on nopal cactus in Masca, TenerifePhoto: Leyo, CC BY-SA 3.0 CH
Cochineal redThe red that hides under the wax: crushed females give carmine, which dyes wool, silk, food and make-up.Shades from scarlet to purple, depending on the metal or acid addedA spot of red shows through the white wax. Photo: Leslie Seaton, CC BY 2.0
Cochineal redThe red that hides under the wax: crushed females give carmine, which dyes wool, silk, food and make-up.Shades from scarlet to purple, depending on the metal or acid addedWool dyed with cochineal (grana cochinilla). Photo: Rosalía Sámano, CC BY-SA 4.0
Dyeing yarn with cochineal in Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, MexicoPhoto: Thelmadatter, CC BY-SA 4.0

Cochineal by the numbers

Measured by scientists on farms and in the lab, with comparisons you can picture.

Length: 6 mm; adult female, about 4.5 mm wide and 4 mm high; Adult female6 mmCrawler (close relative)1.1 mm; About 5 crawlers lined up nose to tail⁠[2, 9]
Weight: 45 mg; an adult female, including her wax⁠[2]
Carminic acid: 14–26%; of a dried female’s weight; one review gives 12–16%⁠[5, 2]
Insects per kg of dye: 80,000–155,000; estimates vary: 80,000–100,000 per kg, or about 70,000 per pound (0.45 kg) of purified dye⁠[2, 7]
Time to grow up: 64–120 days; depends on temperature; farms harvest after about 80–90 days⁠[2, 10]
Male adult life: 3–8 days; 2.7–7.9 days in the cactus cochineal, a close relative⁠[9]
Eggs: up to 355; per female, in the cactus cochineal at 32 °C⁠[9]
Peru’s share: 85–90%; of the world cochineal market⁠[2]
Cochineal species: 11; in the family Dactylopiidae; Dactylopius coccus is the main farmed one⁠[1, 3]
Safe daily intake: 5 mg/kg; of body weight per day for E120, set by food-safety experts⁠[15]

Cochineal myths and facts

Tap Myth or Fact for each claim, then check the answer.

0 of 8 answered

“Cochineal insects are bright red on the outside.”
“The red food colouring E120 comes from insects.”
“Male cochineals make the dye too.”
“Nothing can eat a cochineal because of its red chemical.”
“It takes tens of thousands of insects to make 1 kg of dye.”
“Carmine is dangerous for everyone.”
“People only started farming cochineal after the Spanish arrived.”
“Carminic acid can only be made by insects.”

Cochineal records

Superlatives for a very small insect, each checked against its source.

Top scarlet dye for centuries
1500s–1800s
Cochineal
From the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire until synthetic dyes arrived in the 1800s, cochineal was the main source of scarlet.⁠[3]
Treasure of New Spain
after gold and silver
Cochineal
Cochineal was one of colonial Mexico’s main exports, beaten only by gold and silver. Spain treated how it was made as a state secret.⁠[3]
Biggest producer
85–90%
Peru
Peru supplies most of the world’s cochineal, much of it from the Ayacucho region of the Andes.⁠[2]
First microbe-made carminic acid
2018
Aspergillus nidulans (a mould)
The first proof that a microbe could be engineered to make carminic acid. Bacteria followed in 2021.⁠[19, 20]
Surprise red thief
2024 study
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (an Australian ladybird)
This ladybird never met cochineals in its evolution, yet in the Mediterranean it stores their carminic acid and releases it in tiny defensive droplets that keep ants away.⁠[17]
Oldest cochineal-dyed cloth found
10th–12th century
Paracas, Peru
According to one review, the oldest known cochineal-dyed textiles come from Paracas in Peru; the earliest signs of farming are from Toltec sites in Mexico.⁠[3]

Life of a cochineal

From a red dot on the wind to a waxy mum on a cactus pad, in about 2–4 months.

Day 1
Hatching
A tiny red crawler, about 1 mm long, hatches from one of its mother’s eggs.⁠[9]
First days
On the move
The crawler wanders off. Wind, rain, birds or people may carry it to a new cactus.⁠[9]
Settling
Plugging in
It pushes its mouthparts into the pad, starts drinking sap and stops wandering.⁠[9, 5]
Second stage
Girl or boy?
Males and females now look different. Females start to make wax, first as white dust, then as curls.⁠[9]
Male only
Cocoon and wings
A male finishes growing inside a cocoon and comes out red, with two white wings.⁠[9]
A few days
A short flight
The winged male lives about 3–8 days, just long enough to find and mate with females.⁠[9]
2–3 months
Growing mum
The female grows to about 6 mm and 45 mg, filling up with carminic acid.⁠[2, 5]
80–90 days
Harvest time
On farms, females are collected before they lay their eggs, then dried for dye.⁠[10, 2]
64–120 days
A new generation
Females that are not harvested lay their eggs, and a new wave of crawlers begins.⁠[2, 9]

Cochineal through history

How a cactus bug became “red gold” and ended up in food labels.

About 1,000 years ago
Early farmers
Cochineal-dyed cloth was made in Peru, and Toltec sites in Mexico show early cochineal farming.⁠[3]
Before 1521
Aztec and Inca red
The Aztecs developed ways to farm cochineal, and Inca rulers kept the insects in storehouses as their source of red, a royal colour.⁠[2, 22]
1521 onwards
Spain takes it worldwide
After the conquest of the Aztec Empire, Spain shipped cochineal from Mexico to Europe, India and East Asia, and kept the method a secret.⁠[2, 3]
1600s
Painted red
European painters prized carmine red. Rembrandt used it in his painting The Jewish Bride.⁠[2]
1700s
Oaxaca’s farmers
Indigenous farmers in Oaxaca, Mexico, produced much of the cochineal traded by the Spanish.⁠[23]
Before synthetic dyes
Scarlet coats
Cochineal dyed the scarlet jackets of English army officers.⁠[2]
1800s
New dyes, new farms
Synthetic dyes replaced cochineal and Mexican farming nearly died out, while farms started in Spain, the Canary Islands and elsewhere.⁠[3]
2011
Name it on the label
A US rule from 2009 came into force: foods and cosmetics must name cochineal extract or carmine, to help people with allergies.⁠[18]
2018–2023
Red from microbes
Scientists engineered a mould, bacteria and yeast to make carminic acid in the lab.⁠[19, 20, 21]
Today
Peru leads
Peru produces about 85–90% of the world’s cochineal.⁠[2]

Cochineal in food and make-up

Cochineal red is still used today. Here is what it is, where it turns up and what people with allergies should know.

E120
food code
In Europe, cochineal extract, carminic acid and carmines are labelled E120. They colour foods such as yoghurts and red fruit juices.⁠[15, 2]
5 mg/kg
safe daily intake
Experts set a safe intake of 5 mg per kg of body weight each day.⁠[15]
2011
US label rule
In the USA, foods and cosmetics must name “cochineal extract” or “carmine” in their ingredients.⁠[18]
Lipstick
and blusher
Carmine is also used to tint make-up such as lipsticks and blushers.⁠[2]
Rare
allergies
A small number of people are allergic to carmine. Reactions can be quick or delayed, so they are easy to miss.⁠[18, 24, 16]

A small number of people are allergic to carmine. If a red food or make-up ever makes you itchy, swollen or wheezy, tell an adult straight away and see a doctor. People who know they are allergic check labels for E120, cochineal or carmine.

Cochineal vs aphid vs lac insect

Three sap-sucking bugs: one makes red dye, one is a garden pest and one makes shellac.

Cochineal vs aphid vs lac insect
	Cochineal	Aphid	Lac insect
Group⁠[1, 25, 26]	Scale insect (Dactylopiidae)	Aphid	Scale insect (Kerriidae)
Food⁠[5, 25, 26]	Sap of prickly pear cacti only	Plant fluids from many plants	Plant sap
Covering⁠[2, 25, 26]	White wax	Usually none (some species make wax)	A coat of resin (lac)
Moving about⁠[5, 25, 26]	Females settle on one pad and stay put	Mostly wingless; winged forms fly off when crowded	Females stay fixed to a host tree, wrapped in resin
What people get⁠[15, 25, 26]	Red dye (carmine, E120)	Nothing: a garden pest	Resin (shellac), dye and wax
Where farmed⁠[2, 3, 26]	Mainly Peru, also Mexico and the Canary Islands	Not farmed	South, East and Southeast Asia

All three are true bugs (Hemiptera) that drink plant juices through long, thin mouthparts.

Is the cochineal endangered?

No. The cochineal is a farmed insect and has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List. Its story is about farming, old breeds and pests.

IUCN Red List

Not Evaluated (NE)

Trend unknown

Native populations are in highland Mexico and the Andes of southern Peru, and it is farmed in several countries.⁠[27, 3]

Not evaluated by the IUCN Red List

Threats

Bad weather
Rain, wind, strong sun and extreme temperatures harm cochineals in open fields.⁠[10]
Predators
Ladybird larvae, fly larvae, lacewings and a moth caterpillar all eat cochineals, and some even reuse their red chemical.⁠[1, 13, 17]
Lost old lines
Mexican farming nearly vanished in the 1800s, and big farms now mostly grow an Andean-type cochineal.⁠[3]

What’s helping

Small farmers
Small-scale Mexican farmers still keep old, unique cochineal lines alive.⁠[3]
Indoor farms
Greenhouses and lab rearing systems protect cochineals from weather and predators.⁠[10]

Cochineals as pests

Cochineal in Tigray, EthiopiaNot Evaluated
Brought in from abroad, cochineal has badly damaged the cactus pear that families use for food, fodder and fences.⁠[11]
Cactus cochineal (Dactylopius opuntiae)Not Evaluated
A wild relative used to control invasive prickly pear in some places, and a cactus pest in others.⁠[1, 9]

Cochineal quiz

12 questions. Every answer is somewhere on this page.

Question 1 of 12Score 0

What colour does a live adult female cochineal look from the outside?

Cochineal field notes

Diet, food web, safety and badges from the Snappit field guide.

Diet & Feeding

Cochineal insects are herbivores, sipping sweet sap from prickly pear cacti to survive.

Primary Foods

prickly pear cactus sap
Opuntia ficus-indica sap
cactus phloem

Ecological connections

Prickly Pear CactusEats
Cochineal drinks the sap of prickly pear cacti. It feeds only on cacti of the genus Opuntia, mainly this one.
Hyperaspis ladybirdPossible predator
Some ladybird larvae eat cochineals and reuse their red chemical to defend themselves.
HumanFarms it for dye
People farm cochineal. The dried females make a red dye for food, make-up and cloth.

Safety

Danger 1/5 · Very low

Avoid touching or handling these delicate insects in the wild. A few people are allergic to carmine, the red dye made from cochineal. If a red food or make-up makes you itchy or swollen, tell an adult and see a doctor.

Traits

Collections

Insects

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Dactylopiidae
Genus: Dactylopius

Also known as

Cochineal insect · Carmine cochineal · Domesticated cochineal · Cochinilla (Spanish) · Grana cochinilla (Spanish) · Cochineal Bug · Cochineal Scale

Sources for these cochineal facts

28 studies and references · checked Oct 16, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

How to identify Cochineal?

Look for six legs, antennae, three body sections and the shape of the wings. Beetles have hardened front wings; flies have just one working pair. Tiny insects may need a close view before their group is clear. Insect Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

How big is Cochineal?

3-6 mm

How long does Cochineal live?

60-90 days

What does Cochineal eat?

Cochineal insects are herbivores, sipping sweet sap from prickly pear cacti to survive.

Where is Cochineal usually found?

Desert

How many legs does Cochineal have?

How large are Cochineal colonies?

10000

What is cochineal?

The cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) is a small scale insect in the family Dactylopiidae that lives on prickly pear cacti. Females are packed with carminic acid, which is used to make the red dye carmine, also called cochineal or E120.

Is E120 made from bugs?

Yes. E120 (cochineal extract, carminic acid and carmines) is made from dried female cochineal insects. Because it comes from insects, it is not vegetarian or vegan.

Is cochineal (carmine) safe to eat?

Food-safety experts set a safe daily intake of 5 mg per kg of body weight. A small number of people are allergic, so US labels must name it, and anyone who reacts to it should see a doctor.

How many cochineal insects does it take to make dye?

Estimates vary: about 80,000–100,000 females for 1 kg of dye, or about 70,000 insects for one pound of purified dye.

Why are cochineal insects red?

Their bodies are full of carminic acid, which makes up 14–26% of a dried female. It puts ants off, so scientists think it evolved as a defence.

Where do cochineal insects live?

They live on Opuntia cacti. Native populations are in highland Mexico and the Andes of southern Peru, and they are farmed in Peru, Mexico, the Canary Islands and other dry places.

How long do cochineal insects live?

Growing up takes about 64–120 days, depending on temperature. Winged adult males live only a few days.

Can cochineal insects harm cactus plants?

Yes. Large numbers can drain and kill a cactus. In Tigray, Ethiopia, introduced cochineal has badly damaged cactus pear crops.

Take the discovery with you

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Cochineal abilities

Red Alert

Wax Raincoat

Sap Sipper

Wind Riders

Dye Inside

Egg Pile

Crawler to Mum

Cochineal wax coat

Cochineal body

Cochineal red inside

Cochineal mouthparts

Cochineal gut helpers

Cochineal legs

Cochineal crawlers

Cochineal cactus pad

“Cochineal insects are bright red on the outside.”

“The red food colouring E120 comes from insects.”

“Male cochineals make the dye too.”

“Nothing can eat a cochineal because of its red chemical.”

“It takes tens of thousands of insects to make 1 kg of dye.”

“Carmine is dangerous for everyone.”

“People only started farming cochineal after the Spanish arrived.”

“Carminic acid can only be made by insects.”

Hatching

On the move

Plugging in

Girl or boy?

Cocoon and wings

A short flight

Growing mum

Harvest time

A new generation

Early farmers

Aztec and Inca red

Spain takes it worldwide

Painted red

Oaxaca’s farmers

Scarlet coats

New dyes, new farms

Name it on the label

Red from microbes

Peru leads

Threats

What’s helping

Cochineals as pests

What colour does a live adult female cochineal look from the outside?

What is the red chemical inside a cochineal called?

Which animals did Thomas Eisner show are put off by carminic acid?

What does a cochineal eat?

How long is an adult female cochineal?

Which cochineals have wings?

What is the newly hatched stage of a cochineal called?

Which country produces most of the world’s cochineal today?

What is cochineal’s food-additive code in Europe?