354  Nature  and  Structure  of  Cochineal.   { ms™' 
by  a  pair  of  tubular  processes  located  in  the  fifth  abdominal  seg- 
ment. The  antennae  are  rather  short,  consisting  of  8  parts.  The 
threadlike  beak  or  proboscis,  forming  a  sucking  apparatus,  is  very 
fully  developed.  There  are  3  pairs  of  legs  which  in  the  commercial 
article  do>  not  show  more  than  3  joints.  Projecting  from  the  pos- 
terior portion  of  the  abdomen  there  are  2  short  hairs  or  bristles, 
which  are  wanting  in  the  commercial  article. 
The  male  is  more  elongated  and  ellipsoidal  in  outline  and  is  pro- 
vided with  2  perfectly  transparent  wings  which  reach  beyond  the 
extremity  of  the  abdomen  and  cross  each  other  longitudinally  on 
the  back.  The  head  is  distinguished  from  that  of  the  female  in 
being  furnished  with  a  rudimentary  beak  and  with  2  long  feathery 
antennae.  It  is  said  that  the  male  insect  is  reproduced  in  large 
numbers;  the  larvae  in  the  commercial  cochineal  does  not  show  this 
to  be  the  case.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  actually  only  one  male  is  nec- 
essary for  about  300  females.  Upon  performing  their  functions 
the  male  insects  die  and  are  blown  away.  They  are  therefore 
never  seen  in  the  commercial  article. 
The  female  insect  after  fecundation  grows  larger  as  the  young 
larvae  develop,  becoming  eventually  about  twice  her  original  size. 
She  meanwhile  attaches  herself  to  the  surface  of  the  stems  of  the 
cacti,  her  body  penetrating  into  the  upper  layer  of  cells.  The 
upper  or  dorsal  surface  becomes  more  or  less  cartilaginous  in 
structure  and  more  or  less  convex  in  shape.  The  lower  surface  is 
drawn  toward  the  upper  surface  and  in  this  membraneous  cradle  the 
larvae  are  developed.  It  requires  about  eight  days  for  the  larvae 
to  become  full  grown,  when  they  are  said  to  resemble  the  parents 
with  the  exception  that  they  are  covered  with  a  short  hairy  coating. 
In  another  week  they  attain  maturity  and  the  females  of  the  new 
generation  are  ready  to  form  broods  in  their  turn.  The  life  history 
of  the  cochineal  insect  is  completed  in  about  six  weeks,  two 
weeks  being  required  for  the  development  of  the  mature  insect 
from  the  egg;  during  the  next  two  weeks  the  female  crawls  over 
the  fleshy  stems  of  the  cacti,  the  male  in  the  meanwhile  being  able 
to  fly  about;  then  the  female  attaches  herself  to  the  tissues  of  the 
Nopal  plants,  her  body  becoming  a  membranous  cradle  for  the  larvae 
of  the  next  generation,  and  after  which  she  dies.  From  three  to 
five  generations  of  the  cochineal  insect  may  be  produced  in  a  single 
year.  The  first  generation  usually  is  richer  in  coloring  matter  and 
is  considered  the  most  valuable.   It  is  estimated  that  from  an  area  of 
