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Did you know that the red colour of many soft drinks and for example Campari comes from a beetle that is cultivated here on Lanzarote? Well, now you do. Lanzarote is in fact one of the few places in the world where the beetle is still breed although not on a large scale anymore.
Mexican origin:
Cultivation of the cochineal beetle began in Mexico in the 10th century when its properties as a colorant were discovered by the Aztec Indians. They used to extract the red dye and use as war paint. The beetle got its name from the old Aztec name for colour, which was nochezli which later was changed into a Spanish cochinilla. |
The cochineal beetle is breed on the opuntia cacti, normally known as the fig cactus because of its edible fruits. The cochineal was introduced to Europe by the Spanish in the mid 19th century after they had realised the importance of this product. Although the Spanish tried to guard the secret of the cochineal, it was eventually discovered by other nations. The French managed to smuggle out a sample of the beetle and tried to implant it on the French colony of Haiti but with little success. The cactus survived and did well but the beetle didn't. The Spanish themselves tried to introduce the beetle to the mainland but this experiment did not work very well either. But then they made a new attempt - this time on the Canary Islands. The fig cactus had already been introduced to the islands in the 16th century because of its fruits.
In 1835 the production of cochineal began in the Canaries and it soon became one of the largest exports from these islands. The insects did well although the local farmers initially were a bit dubious to the cultivation of parasites as they though the beetle might threaten other necessary crops.
Cochineal cultivation on Lanzarote commenced in 1835 at the El Patio Estate in Tiagua and soon after in Guatiza and Mala.
Breeding the beetle
The cochineal is a small, soft, dark beetle. Its mouth has adapted to bite into their host cactus and absorb its vegetable juice. The parasite is covered in a white wax resembling ash. The male is grey-red and has wings while the female is wingless. One male comes to 300 females. In the spring the females lay their eggs on the leaves of the cactus. Each female lays about 150 eggs during 10 days.
Cultivation involves distributing the beetle over the cacti and the women farmers make sure that the females are evenly spread on the cactus so that a healthy stem of reproduction can take place. If the weather and climate are good, up to five generations can be bred each year. The beetles are harvested every two to three months. Neither the male (which dies after mating) nor the female beetles are harvested. It is the larva that is scraped from the cactus with a wooden spatula, it is then killed in hot water and put to dry in the sun. The dried larva is then made into powder. In ideal circumstances 300 to 400 kg of beetles can be harvested per hectare per year. |
