Comments on: Female Cochineal Beetle and your Food

By: Pigment Sourcing Goes Old School | The Canvas of Another Color

Pigment Sourcing Goes Old School | The Canvas of Another Color — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:10:15 +0000

[...] Credit: Don Tai The Cochineal Beetle used to make [...]

By: Lica

Lica — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 06:09:39 +0000

Hey ramina, really? any confirmation source?

By: Ramina Damir

Ramina Damir — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:18:32 +0000

They use this insect to make Coca-cola

By: third party logistics

third party logistics — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 05:07:07 +0000

People don’t seem to pay too much attention these days about the quality of intake that they are using. it is nice to see you posting about such an important issue.

By: entomology grad student

entomology grad student — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 06:08:46 +0000

Please change the picture associated with this post! It is the first thing that comes up when you do a Google image search of “cochineal.” I am teaching a class called “Insects and People” and today we just did the lab where we do tie-dye with cochineal. I do not want images of a scarab beetle tagged as cochineal floating around the internet to misinform my students. While beetles and scale insects are both in the Class Insecta, they are in completely different orders! It’s like calling a house cat a blue whale (they’re both in the Class Mammalia). This make may seem like small potatoes to you, but this is a big mistake.

By: dontai

dontai — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:13:00 +0000

That's a nice article you wrote. It is important to understand the source of our food, no matter how seemingly disgusting. Some cultures such as Thailand and Indonesia regularly serve up bugs as roadside snacks. They are an excellent source of protein. I'm still not ready for deep fried cockroaches, no matter how tasty.

By: madeline

madeline — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 04:06:48 +0000

Hey I think this is a great little article overviewing these bugs. Just wanted to let you I was researching them for my own blog and I wanted to say that I used some of these pics.

By: Vegan: Day 9, the one where I accidently eat a bug « Something New

Vegan: Day 9, the one where I accidently eat a bug « Something New — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 03:54:18 +0000

[...] I borrowed some info and photos from Don Tai’s blog [...]

By: rachel

rachel — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:08:43 +0000

As Derrick and Ron say, the “beetle” picture is completely wrong. It’s now being replicated throughout the net – wrong information spreads fast it seems! Please get rid of it. It’s easy enough to find images of the right bug online if you take the time to look. It’s not a beetle of any kind; it’s a scale insect – a bug. Do change it!!

By: Ron

Ron — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:14:57 +0000

Derrick is correct. The female cochineal insect is soft – no shell – and has only vestigial legs. For more info and photos, search \cochineal insect\ at http://www.bugguide.net

I can’t figure out where this \beetle\ thing comes from, but it’s dead wrong!