And if you have ever eaten a food product that lists carmine or cochineal extract, you have actually had a taste of history. Fiber artists around the world still use cochineal as a dye.

Just look for carmine or cochineal extract on the label to see for yourself. But today, carmine is becoming harder and harder to come by. Some companies like Campari Group, maker of the famous ...

The extract of cochineal tends to come up a lot. The cochineal bugs—a species of scale insect—are a centuries-old colorant. In the 19th century, chemists figured out how to make a synthetic ...

Thirty other patients had negative patch test results. Carmine is a widely used pigment derived from gravid cochineal insects. Carminic acid is the source of its color. Only two previous ...

5. Arrange the bowl and spoon (or mortar and pestle), paper, paintbrushes, and dried cochineal bugs near the cups. Crush the bug into a fine powder using the pestle (or the back of a metal spoon). Add ...