COCCUS CACTI. 



THE SECONDARY CHARACTERS. 



Coccus. Tarsi with one joint only and terminated by a 

 single hook. Male destitute of a rostrum, with two wings 

 which lie one over the other horizontally. Abdomen termi- 

 nated by two setce. Female apterous, furnished with a ros- 

 trum. Antennce filiform or setaceous, and most commonly 

 with eleven joints. 



THE SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



Coccus CACTI. Male very small, with the antennae shorter 

 than the body. Body elongated, of a deep red, terminated 

 by two long, diverging setce. Wings large, white, crossed 

 above the abdomen. Female nearly twice as large as the 

 male, bluish red, covered with a white farina. Antennce short. 

 Body flattened below, convex. Feet short. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



This insect, Coccus CACTI, is found in its wild state in 

 Mexico and the adjoining countries feeding on several species 

 of Cactus and allied genera of plants. It is said also to have 

 been discovered in some of the West India Islands, and the 

 southern parts of the United States. In Mexico, however, 

 and particularly in the provinces of Oaxaca and Guaxaca, it 

 is an important object of culture, where it is, as it were, do- 

 mesticated and reared with great care. Plantations of the 

 nopal ( Opuntia cochinillefera) are made, upon which the in- 

 sect feeds and propagates, and attains to a greater size than 

 in the wild state. The insect has been taken from Mexico to 

 the Canary Islands, where the product is now very large ; 

 and considerable quantities of cochineal have been brought 

 to market from the island of Teneriffe. The culture has also 

 been successfully introduced into Java by the Dutch, and 

 attempts have been made to introduce it into Spain, Corsica, 

 and Algiers. 



The cochineal insect is small, very seldom exceeding a 

 small pea in magnitude, with the head, except in the males, 

 scarcely distinct from the body, which is depressed, downy, 

 and transversely rugose. The abdomen is of a purplish-red 

 color, flat below and convex above. The legs are six in num- 

 ber, short and black. The males which are few in propor- 



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