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Kermes (insect)

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Kermes
Kermes echinatus
Scientific classification
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Kermes

Latreille, 1798
Species

See text

Kermes is a genus of scale insects in the order Hemiptera. They feed on the sap of evergreen oaks; the females produce a red dye, also called "kermes", that is the source of natural crimson.[1] The word "kermes" is derived from Arabic qirmiz (قرمز), "crimson" (both the colour and the dyestuff).[2]


There are some 20 species,[3] including:

References

  1. ^ Naturenet article with images and description of Kermes vermilio and its foodplant
  2. ^ "Crimson (n.)". Etymology Online. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  3. ^ Spodek, Malkie; Ben-Dov, Yair (2012). "Morphology of the first-instar nymph and adult female of Kermes echinatus Balachowsky, with a comparison to K. vermilio Planchon (Hemiptera, Coccoidea, Kermesidae)". ZooKeys. 246: 11–26. doi:10.3897/zookeys.246.3766. ISSN 1313-2970.