COCHINEAL. 
\ -» ' r« ? ■ i : 
GENERIC CHARACTER. 
Rostrum situated in the breast. 
Hinder part of the abdomen bristly. 
Two erect wings on the males ; none on the females. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 
Coccus Cacti. C. cacti coccinelliferi. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 1. 
p. 2220. 
Coccinella alis destituta, corpore rugoso. Brown 
Jam. 43 5. 
Cochineal. . Degeer Ins. 6. pi. 80. f. 12— '14. Reaum. Ins. 4. 
pi. 7- f* 11, 12. Shaw Gen. Zool. 6. p. 1Q1. 
pi. 6l. 
Cochineal was known as a drug long before its 
real nature was determined : some supposed it to 
be a vegetable, while others thought it an insect. 
This difference of opinion was owing to the dried 
state in which it was imported ; and its appearance 
in our shops is so ambiguous, that it would puzzle 
any one unacquainted with the drug to say whether 
the substance was of animal or vegetable origin. 
The history, however, of this useful material is now 
