The Bugs That Make You See Red
Aztecs and Europeans treasured the radiant hue produced by cochineals living on prickly pear cactuses
The color catches our eye, accelerates our heartbeat and quickens our breath. It’s the color of power, passion and excitement—and for centuries, a tiny insect that thrives in Texas, the American southwest and Mexico has produced the brightest, clearest reds. Extract from cochineal insects still colors foods, cosmetics and clothing throughout the world.
Before the Texas Revolution, Col. Juan Almonte noted that the cochineal crop, gathered twice yearly in Texas, was hauled to Laredo and shipped to agents of the British crown. They needed it to color their red coats. When the Lone Star flag was adopted in 1839, the red field was dyed with cochineals.
Cochineals belong to the scale family. The parasitic bugs are about one-third the size of a ladybug and feed on the spiny pads of prickly pear cactuses. A glance will tell you if cochineals have infested a cactus:
The pads are covered with bits of white fluff. Females possess carminic acid, which is distasteful to ants and grubs that might otherwise find them delicious. It is also what creates her carmine, or red pigment.
Good Night Hamsters. See you again in the morning. 🙂
Beautiful day out here today. Got absolutely nothing to show for it. Time to give it up and crawl in bed though. You all have a good evening. More tomorrow.
Got him a Cougar! Great story, love it.
It has been a great day here, high about 78 low humidity and bright sunshine. Sister often comes over on Sunday afternoon and has supper with us but this morning she dropped by for breakfast so I was by myself for supper and remembered that I had some boneless chicken thighs that I need to cook. So I fixed honey… Read more »
Mharper – it just goes to show it’s never too late to fall in love. Sweet story!
I arrived back home after watching L’il Darlin’ open her gifts. I bought her a necklace that she picked out, and she wore that to mass, but she received a much nicer at her party. She also got a rustic praying angel for her room, and a flower growing kit from a family friend. She had picked out a beautiful… Read more »
#75 – That truly is the story of the weekend.
#75 mharper, that is a neat story. It’s never too late.
As posted here yesterday, I went to the birthday party held at a local restaurant this afternoon. The host was my next-door neighbor Ken (AKA 80-y.o) and the birthday person was his old friend Peggy, who turned 90 y-o today. Peggy is retired Marine Corps and many of the guests today were military, a few of them active, but mostly… Read more »
The myna bird-mockingbird media sees no illegal alien crime, hears no illegal alien crime nor speaks no illegal alien crime. everyone who breaches the nonexistent border is a completely honest, 100% virtuous ‘migrant’. just the act of breaking into the country makes one virtuous. There was a a ‘how many more’ rally at the capital in Austin yesterday and neither… Read more »
I watched a brief video of today’s press conference with the high sheriff of San Jacinto County and the affirmative action head of the Houston office of the FBI. Assorted crime fighter groups are offering an cumulative reward of $80 thousand for information on this guy. FBI admits that they have absolutely no idea where he is and have no… Read more »
69 Adee Chris Van Hollen is the junior senator from Maryland. He took Barbara Mikulski’s seat when she finally retired as the only senator farther to left of Bernie Sanders. Van Hollen is not much better, but Maryland is a lost cause politically these days. The whole state is populated by federal employees or gang members if you’re talking about… Read more »
Katfish’s #44 video It’s funny and clever, but I have one big problem with it. They make the idiot parents and the rioting parents out to all be conservatives. The school board, with the exception of the black man, is a bunch of sour, pinch faced white men. The typical local school board in America is at least 50% female… Read more »
#28 TexMo: Thank you.
#66 Super Dave,
Mr. Van Hollen is obviously a Democrat running for some office, and that’s all I know about him from the picture. But he does have a mouthful off tooth fillings. 🙂
This is very good from an oil & gas economist. Luxury Beliefs And Energy Policy: The Fatal Conceit In a remarkable interview on Wednesday with anchor Laura Ingraham of Fox News, Norman Fenton, Professor Emeritus of Risk at Queen Mary University of London, spelt out just what the “net zero” economy really means. Net zero, to remind ourselves, is the… Read more »
#44 Katfish,
That was a hoot.
Never heard of Chris Van Hollen? Well me neither but I just saw him Shannon Bream’s Sunday and I can tell you that he is a lying sack of steaming Dog Poo….That is All!!!
Mr. DeSantis is dumb like a fox on the law he just signed. It deals with the situation of a private property owner being accosted on his/her own private property by someone harassing said owner by the harasser’s uninvited, unasked for opinion or for its opinion on his/her private property. The uninvited harasser’s freedom of speech does not trump the… Read more »
Never mind, the IRS is there to see who gets the 80 grand.
Oh crap, didn’t know the IRS is after him too! Case closed then.
Still hearing nothing on the manhunt in Cleveland. Looking to me like this Mexican illegal has given the slip to our vaunted but woke FBI, ICE, Border Patrol, IRS, ATF, and anything else looking for him – on foot. The dogs lost the scent, and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t seem to buy a clue. … Read more »
It ran for three years – 1959, 1960 & 1961. I was 7, 8 and 9 years old and tried to never miss the show.
The theme song for the show was recorded by Johnny Cash.
Godzilla movies are being run on the Comet network as I have been coming and going today. One of them features the actor Nick Adams. You have to be a certain age to remember him from the television series The Rebel, in which he played Confederate veteran Johnny Yuma. Wiki’s synopsis of the TV series: Haunted by his memories of the… Read more »
LD2 has received her First Communion. She was one big grin. So sweet. So blessed.
#44 Katfish, your video was a little long but worth watching. 😉
In case you haven’t noticed Ron’s a club member.
paul Ryan and Jeb bush approved.
im sure the dizzy dunce of a Crawford cowboy likes him too.
and possibly even the Kentucky Swamp Turtle will give him a little turtle dovin’ in the near future.
#53 Texpat
Wow, that is hard to believe! Up to this point, DeSantis had not seemed to be insane.
A weather update from the not-so-great white north. Going to be 73+ today and warmer during the week. The garden calls and the work begins. Later y’all, have a great day.
Good Morning Hamsters, Windy, dry, and 57 that feels cold this morning on the way to fetch the Chron. Our weather has been all over the thermometer lately and changes fast up or down or sideways. Last day of a mixed-up April. Hope May is more together and more predictable. But we do live in Texas where if you wait… Read more »
Texpat 9:19; I have to agree that this is a very dumb and dangerous move. One would think that after all the abuses that sprang from the DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY,DOJ, FBI, ATF, etc., at the hands of the leftists that putting a dangerous weapon like this legislation out there will not ever turn out well for reasonable thinking citizens. … Read more »
This is never going to survive in the courts. What a dumb idea it is. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis flew to a foreign country on Thursday to sign an anti-hate speech law that makes speech deemed “harassment” or “intimidation” a felony punishable by 5 years in prison. DeSantis signed HB 269 in Jerusalem, and it is being touted as a… Read more »
Doing business in Mexico for years and having known many Guatemalans, El Salvadorans and Hondurans, I can tell you Mexicans have a much higher rate of alcoholism. In fact, I have never met a Guatemalan or El Salvadoran who drinks. Every one I’ve met are teetotalers.
#47 ELG
That old BBQ narration desperately needs modifying to include “non A-B beer.”
#49 – Right you are. This illegal could cause political problems for the current party in power and their policies, so we don’t know which agencies might be in favor of catching the guy versus the agencies that are helping conceal him and spirit him out of the spotlight. The one thing they can both agree on however is that… Read more »
Manhunt continues in Cleveland. No worries, the FBI and ATF are on it now. Not trying to be funny, I’d much rather the Texas Rangers and local Sheriff’s Departments handle it.
In other news, good morning gang. 46 degrees this morning headed for a high near 95. That’s quite a temperature spread for one day. Lots of dew this morning, and the yard may still be too wet to mow, but I’ll decide that in a little bit. If I do mow, it will be early before it gets too hot,… Read more »
It’s BBQ season again. But there are some unwritten (well now they have been written apparently) rules and traditions which must be observed. https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/04/summer-barbecue-wars-opening-soon.php
Katfish
Well, you did warn me, but spewed coffee anyhow.
😀
Coffee and suiting up to head out for another new young HERO.
Yall enJOY!
I really gotta LAUGH out of this one! (punch line at the end – wait for it! )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh3Yz3PiXZw
I meant to link it but forgot. Oh and I still don’t have a radial arm saw so all the cutting was done with my battery powered Skill Saw. I do love that I don’t have to plug it in AND I completed the job on one battery charge. BTW; The battery is a 3 AH.
/insert Tim the Toolman sounds
It’s Sunday! Wake up slackers! #36, mharper, the room is small (roughly 13′ X 9′) but there was a lot of cutting and fitting that took time but out in the middle of the room it goes pretty fast. The aggravating part is notching out long sections and fitting the flooring in the two doorways. That said, I still need… Read more »
yo all the rest of you oserhays
all the rest of you oserhays yo
yo texpat
texpat yo
mb wants you to be her rock
yo Bruddah Squawk
bruddah squawk yo
yo uncka
uncka yo
After 24 years, I decided it’s high time I watched The Matrix.
Cool, man.
#32 Dave
That’s one of the most amazing handy-man stories I ever heard! Getting a basically complex job like flooring a room done in one day???