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The insects are found on the pads of prickly pear cacti, collected by brushing them off the plants, and dried. Chemical structure of carminic acid, the predator-deterring substance found in high concentration in cochineal insects: The insoluble aluminium and calcium salts of this acid form red and purple dyes called "carmine".
Dactylopius opuntiae can also have a strong negative impact on both the production of prickly pear fruit for fresh consumption and on cladodes as fodder for livestock feed. The cochineal species tends to form variably sized colonies on cladodes, which in some cases are totally covered by the insect.
Phyllosticta concava, also known as opuntia dry rot [1] or prickly pear brown spot, is a species of fungus that infects opuntia cactus, leaving discolored circular depressions in the pads. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] The species was first formally described by the mycologist Fred Jay Seaver in 1922.
O. ficus-indica is a cactus cultivated as a food crop, and it is the most commonly noted host plant of Dactylopius species. D. coccus can be found in fields of the cultivated plant and on specimens in the wild. [3] D. opuntiae is an economically important pest of this cactus in many regions. [11]
Opuntia, commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. [1] Cacti are well-adapted to aridity; however, they are still vulnerable to alterations in precipitation and temperature driven by climate change. [ 2 ]
Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm habitats. Of the more than 2,000 described species, many are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees and also act as a vector for several plant diseases.
Longhorn cactus beetles feed on chollas and prickly pear cacti and are known to feed on saguaro seedlings. Larvae bore into cactus roots and stems, sometimes killing more susceptible individuals. Adults also feed on the surface of cacti.
Common English names for the plant and its fruit are Indian fig opuntia, Barbary fig, cactus pear, prickly pear, and spineless cactus, among many others. [3] In Mexican Spanish, the plant is called nopal, a name that may be used in American English as culinary terms. Peninsular Spanish mostly uses higo chumbo for the fruit and chumbera for the ...