c o c 
which it readily communicates to wool and filk, but with 
much more difficulty to linen and cotton, This infeft, 
like all others, is of two lexes, but exceedingly diffimilar 
in their appearance. The female, which alone is valua¬ 
ble for its colour, is ill-lhaped, tardy, and Itupid : its 
eyes, mouth, and antennae, are fixed fo deep, and are fo 
concealed in the folds of the fkin, that it.is impoffible to 
diltinguiffi them withouta microfcope. The male is very 
fcarce, and fufficient for three-hundred females or more; 
it is active, fmall, and fender, in companion with the 
female ; its neck is narrower than the head, and itill nar¬ 
rower than the reft of the body. Its thorax is of an elliptic 
form, a little longer than the neck and head put together, 
and flattened below; its antennae are jointed, and out of 
each joint iffue long flender hairs that are difpofed in pairs 
on each. fide. It has fix feet, each formed of diftinft parts. 
From the pofterior extremity of its body two large hairs 
or briftles are extended, which are four or five times the 
length of the infeft. It bears two wings that are fixed to 
the upper part of the thorax, which fall like the wings 
of common flies when it walks or refts. Thefe wings, 
which are of an oblong form, are fuddenly diminiflied 
in breadth where they are connefted to the body. They 
are ftrengthened by two oblong mufcles, one of which 
extends itfelf on the outfide all round the wing ; and the 
other, which is internal and parallel to the former, feems 
interrupted towards the fummit of the wings. The male 
is of a bright red ; but the female is of a Itill deeper and 
more beautiful red colour. They are bred on a plant 
which grows fpontaneoufly throughout the Spanilh fet- 
tlements in South America, called by the natives nopal , 
and by the Spaniards luona-, and of which plantations 
are made for the purpofe of breeding thefe infefts. It 
is the caftus cochenilliferi of Linnaeus. See Cactus, 
vol. iii. p. 582. 
The juice of the plant on which thefe infefts breed is 
their foie nourilhment, and becomes converted into their 
fubftance; when, inftead of being thin and wateriffi, and 
to all appearance of little or no ufe, it is rendered of a 
molt beautiful crimfon colour. The plant is in May or 
June in its molt vigorous ftate, and at this moll favoura¬ 
ble feafon the eggs are depofited among the leaves. In 
the Ihort fpace of two months, from an animalcule, the 
infeft grows to the fize above mentioned: but its infant 
.ltate is expofed to a variety of dangers : the violent blafts 
of the north wind often fweep away the eggs from the 
foliage of the plant: and, what is equally fatal to their 
tender conftitutions, Ihowers, fogs, and frofts, in turn 
attack them, and deftroy the leaves, leaving the careful 
cultivator this only refource, namely, that of making 
fires at certain diftances, and filling the air with fimoke, 
which frequently preferves them from the inclemency of 
the weather. The breeding is alfo greatly obitrufted by 
birds of different kinds, which are very fond of thefe in¬ 
fects ; and the fame danger is to be apprehended from 
the worms, &c. which are found among the plantations. 
The cochineal-inleft may, in fome circumftances, be 
compared to the filk-worm, particularly in the manner 
of depofiting its eggs. The infefts deftined for this pur¬ 
pofe are taken at a proper time of their growth, and put 
into a box well clofed, and lined with a coarfe cloth that 
none of them be loft: and in this confinement they 
lay their eggs and die. The box is kept clofe lhut till 
the time of placing the eggs on the plant, when, if any 
motion is perceived, it is a fufficient indication that the 
animalcule has life, though the egg is fo minute as hardly 
to be perceived; and this is the ieed placed on the fo¬ 
liage, and the quantity contained in the Ihell of a hen’s 
egg is fufficient for covering a w'hole plant. It is re¬ 
markable that this inleft does not, in any vifible manner, 
injure the plant, but extracts its nourilhment from the 
molt l'ucculent juice, which it fucks by means of its pro- 
bofcis through the fine teguments of the leaves. 
The countries where cochineal infebts are mottly bred, 
are Mexico, Peru, and the Portuguefe fettlements in 
Vol. IV. No. 233. 
C U S. 721 
South America. The following defcription of thefe in* 
fefts, and method of cultivating them in the Portuguefe 
fettlement of Rio de Janeiro, is given by fir George 
Staunton, in his “ Embaffy to China,” and which we 
can the more confide in, becaufe the obfervations were 
made on the fpot, while lord Macartney’s fquadron were 
taking in refrelhments at that port. 
The cochineal infeft of Rio is convex, with legs of a 
clear bright red in both male and female, and the anten¬ 
nae are moniliform, or bead-like. The male is a delicate 
and beautiful infeft; the colour of the whole body a 
bright red, nearly refembling the pigment ufually called 
red lake. The bread is elliptical, and (lightly attached to 
the head. The antennae about half the length of the 
body. The legs are of a more brilliant red than that 
of the other parts. Two fine white filaments, about 
three times the length of the infeft, nrojeft from the ex¬ 
tremity of its belly or abdomen. The wings are two, 
ereft, of a faint draw colour, and of a very delicate tex¬ 
ture. The female has no wings, is elliptic in its form, 
and convex on both fides, but molt fo on the back, which 
is covered with a white downy fubftance refembling the 
fineft cotton. The abdomen is marked with tranfverfe 
rugx or furrows. The mouth is fituated in the breaft, 
having a brown beak, inclining to a purple tint, that pe¬ 
netrates the plant on which the infeft feeds. Its fix 
legs are of a clear bright red. It becomes pregnant 
about twenty days after it is born, and dies after bring¬ 
ing forth an innumerable offspring, of fo minute a fize as 
to be eafily miftaken for the eggs only of thofe infefts. 
For about the fpace of a day they remain without any ap¬ 
pearance of life or motion ; but i'oon afterwards ffiew figns 
of animation, and begin to move with great agility over 
the furface of the leaf on which the mother had depofited 
them. At this time they appear, under a magnifier, like 
fmall fpecks of red unffiapen matter, thinly covered over 
with a fine cottony down. In three or four days this 
downy envelopement becomes vifible to the naked eye ; 
the infeft it covered increafing rapidly in fize, till the 
largeft is nearly equal to a grain of rice. With this in- 
creafe of fize they decreafe in motion, and when arrived 
at their full growth, they adhere to the leaf in a torpid 
ftate. At this period they are taken from the plant for 
ufe ; but, if fuffered to remain, wdll depofit their young, 
as already mentioned. Amongft the clufters of thefe in¬ 
fefts, enveloped in their cotton, there are feveral cells, 
of a cylindric form, Handing perpendicularly on the fur- 
face of the leaf. Thefe cells are the chryfalides or coc- 
coons of the male, and out of wdiich the wings, in their 
nafcent ltate, make their firft appearance, and are vifible 
about three days before the perfeft infeft: is produced. 
It enjoys its exiltence, in that ftate, only three or four 
days, during which it impregnates the females. The 
plant, on which this infeft feeds, is called at Rio, orum- 
bela, and is the caftus cochenilliferi of Linnxus. The 
leaves are thick and flelhy; the upper fide more flat, or 
even concave, than the oppofite ; are fomewhatof an oval 
form, growing without ltalks, but riling one immediately 
from the other’s edge, as well as from the Item, armed with 
round and tapering prickles, about an inch, or nearly fo, 
in length, and having a reddifli purple bloffom growing 
out of the top, which is the rudiment of the fruit. Theie 
plants grow, fometimes, to the height of twenty feet; 
but they are generally prevented from rifing above eight 
feet, which is a fize more convenient to the cochineal 
breeder, and at which the leaves are thought to contain 
juices molt nutritious to the infefts. The young leaves 
are of a dark green, but incline towards a yellow colour 
as they advance in age. The internal fubftance of the 
leaf is of the fame colour with its exterior furface. It is 
eafy to difcern when any infefts are upon the plant; they 
firlt appearlike a white powder thinly fpread upon its flat 
or hollow fide, which is marked, foon afterwards, with 
fmall protuberances of the lame white downy fubftance, 
already faid to refemble the fineft cotton, 
8 X 
Another 
