Cochineal was used to dye the cloaks of Roman Catholic cardinals and to color jackets that gave British "redcoat" soldiers their nickname. Today, cochineals are still a natural source of dye for ...

But today, Peru dominates the market, and Mexico’s cochineal farms are disappearing. More from Big Business Cochineals are tiny bugs that live on prickly pear cactuses. The acid in their guts ...