Home | Community | Message Board
You are not signed in.
Sign In New Account
Forum Index Search Posts Trusted Vendors Highlights Galleries FAQ User List Chat Store Random Growery


This site includes paid links. Please support our sponsors.

Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > The Ethnobotanical Garden
Threaded Mode Threaded  Previous topic Previous  View all topics Index  Next topic Next 

Welcome to the Shroomery Message Board! You are experiencing a small sample of what the site has to offer. Please login or register to post messages and view our exclusive members-only content. You'll gain access to additional forums, file attachments, board customizations, encrypted private messages, and much more!

MagicBag.co Shop: All-In-One Bags That Don't Suck, Certified Organic All-In-One Grow Bags by Magic Bag, Contam-Resistant All-In-One Grow Bags

Jump to first unread post Pages: 1
Some of these posts are very old and might contain outdated information. You may wish to search for newer posts instead.
I didn't know cochineal were farmed on Opuntia cacti
    #12689583 -

:goodmorning:

Cochineal beetles are farmed exclusively on Opuntia cacti

I thought this was an interesting fact for anyone, like me, who didn't know. Cochineal beetles are used to produce Red 4, also called "natural coloring" and is in a vast amount of western processed foods.

But interestingly enough, "a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulation will require all foods and cosmetics containing cochineal to declare it on their ingredient labels as of January 5, 2011" according to the Federal Register.

Just somehting I found when trying to figure out why this Pyrophorus insect (the beetle with mock eyes that glow green) was dancing around on my Stetsonia coryne. Still not sure why, I hope it's on my team.


--------------------
I don't use or interact with illegal drugs. I joined for the wealth of information available in the Ethnobotanical Garden forum.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: I didn't know cochineal were farmed on Opuntia cacti [Re: iFennario]
    #12689721 -

Yeah, it is interesting. It's one of the reasons why Opuntia has spread all over Australia. Did you read that bit?


--------------------
My Ethnobotanical Growing TeksWhere to Start Flow Chart, QnA, and helpful links

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: I didn't know cochineal were farmed on Opuntia cacti [Re: karode13]
    #12689830 -

Quote:
but the cactus thrived, eventually overrunning about 100,000 square miles of eastern Australia. The cacti were eventually brought under control in the 1920s by the deliberate introduction of a South American moth, Cactoblastis cactorum, whose larvae fed on the cactus.


I hope that moth only has a taste for Opuntia cacti....  :lophcrankey:


--------------------

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: I didn't know cochineal were farmed on Opuntia cacti [Re: Ambient Forest]
    #12689964 -

It appears they may only be interested in Opuntia species luckily and is one of a few insects to have a monument in its honour. link


--------------------
My Ethnobotanical Growing TeksWhere to Start Flow Chart, QnA, and helpful links

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: I didn't know cochineal were farmed on Opuntia cacti [Re: karode13]
    #12691363 -

i hate the name of that moth though. i hope they only blast opuntias, like NGX285 said.

and that wiki read was pretty interesting.


--------------------
Nature is my church and walking through it is gospel. It tells no lies and reveals all to those who look, and listen, closely.
-Karode

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: I didn't know cochineal were farmed on Opuntia cacti [Re: iFennario]
    #12692039 -

It's not any opuntia, there's one species which is best for cochineal production.

The currant is used to color red Martinis.


FH

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: I didn't know cochineal were farmed on Opuntia cacti [Re: felixhigh]
    #12692258 -

It says one species is best but most any will work :shrug:

Yeah that Cactoblaster is an awful sounding insect to have around. But until now I thought Opuntia to be indestructible :lol:


--------------------
I don't use or interact with illegal drugs. I joined for the wealth of information available in the Ethnobotanical Garden forum.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: I didn't know cochineal were farmed on Opuntia cacti [Re: iFennario]
    #12694163 -

iFennario said:
But until now I thought Opuntia to be indestructible :lol:


hahaha, yeah I've seen it growing in some of the most baron places & looking like its having the time of its life, while everything else around it has already withered away & died.


--------------------

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: I didn't know cochineal were farmed on Opuntia cacti [Re: iFennario]
    #12694332 -

It is Opuntia cochonilifera (spelling? sorry) which is best for cochineal production for currant.
Also its not any cochineal that is good for currant, as some don't yield as much as the Opuntia cochinilifera ones.

But of course that any cactus can be parasited for cochineal.


FH

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Jump to top Pages: 1

MagicBag.co Shop: All-In-One Bags That Don't Suck, Certified Organic All-In-One Grow Bags by Magic Bag, Contam-Resistant All-In-One Grow Bags

Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > The Ethnobotanical Garden
Threaded Mode Threaded  Previous topic Previous  View all topics Index  Next topic Next 

Similar ThreadsPosterViewsRepliesLast post
* Cacti Grafting
( 1 2 3 4 all )		 EvilGir 16,425 60 09/27/03 04:05 PM
by Openminded
* tiny black turtles sucking my cacti felixhigh 1,161 10 10/09/04 03:21 PM
by kadakuda
* Cacti Farms in Florida mjshroomer 3,399 13 02/22/05 05:33 PM
by jackgreen
* couple rootstock q's for cacti grafts. kadakuda 2,404 18 09/13/04 01:34 AM
by felixhigh
* graft on Opuntia ficus-indica (Indian Fig Opuntia) jivangilad 8,954 8 02/07/09 11:26 AM
by mutant
* Opuntia scpecies contains mescaline? ApacheShaman 6,173 2 09/29/07 07:56 PM
by ApacheShaman
* More of Florida's Cacti Farm: The United State of Cacti mjshroomer 953 3 05/26/04 08:43 AM
by mjshroomer
* Opuntia I was tripping!!!
( 1 2 3 4 5 all )		 KBG1977 10,189 84 04/13/09 02:10 AM
by Dr. uarewotueat

Extra information
You cannot start new topics / You cannot reply to topics
HTML is disabled / BBCode is enabled
Moderator: karode13, Mostly_Harmless, A.k.a
567 topic views. 0 members, 19 guests and 14 web crawlers are browsing this forum.
[ Show Images Only | Sort by Score | Print Topic ]
Search this thread:

Copyright 1997-2026 Mind Media. Some rights reserved.

Generated in 0.031 seconds spending 0.007 seconds on 16 queries.