(A dim. of coccus, a berry,) also called coccinella,ficus Indiae grana, scarabaeolus haemis-fihericu.s, cochinelifera cochinella, coccus Americanus, cochinelle, coccus Indicus tinctorius. Cochineal. Coccus cacti Lin. Syst. Nat. (Gmelin) 2220.

It is an insect, but, as brought to us, appears in little grains, wrinkled, of an irregular figure, convex on one side, and flat or hollow on the other; externally they are of a dark red colour, generally sprinkled with a whitish clammy powder; internally of a deep bright red. It is brought from Mexico and New Spain; but the plant has been lately cultivated in India with some success. The insects are found adhering to the leaves and branches of the opuntia, called nochetzli, nopalli; or'

C O C 453 coc nocheznopatli in New Spain; the American prickly pear tree, or Indian fig; cactus opuntia Lin. Sp. Pi. 669. The natives carefully collect, preserve, and cure them. The male insects have wings, and are about the size of a flea; the females have no wings, and are larger: when full of young they swell so as to resemble berries, in which state they are swept off from the leaves and branches of the opuntia with a pencil; if left until the young ones creep out, the parent dies, and its body becomes an empty husk. From their state when thus hiding their young, they have been styled the gall insect; or, more strictly, the pro (false) gall insect; the true one being the kermes, which belongs to the same genus. It is the female sort that we use for dying scarlet and making carmine. By different management it affords all the shades of red, from the lowest to the highest.

Carmine is a fecula or powder that settles at the bottom of the water in which cochineal hath been mixed: with this the drapers rub scarlet cloth where it has not taken the dye.

Cochineal gives a fine durable red to proof and rectified spirits, and a deep durable crimson to water: both retain their colour when inspissated to an extract.

This insect hath been commended as diuretic, diaphoretic, and corroborant; but they are now employed only for their colour. See Neumann's Chem. Works; Dict, of Chem. Lewis's Mat. Med.