''Kermes'' is a genus of
scale insect
Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the ...
s in the order
Hemiptera
Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...
. They feed on the sap of evergreen
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
s; the females produce a red
dye
A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...
, also called "
kermes", that is the source of natural
crimson
Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple.
It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, ''Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red colo ...
. The word "kermes" is derived from Persian or Turkish ''qirmiz'' or ''kirmizi'' (
قرمز), "crimson" (both the colour and the dyestuff).
There are some 20 species,
including:
* ''
Kermes bacciformis'' Leonardi, 1908
* ''
Kermes corticalis'' (Nassonov, 1908)
* ''
Kermes echinatus Kermes may refer to :
* Kermes (genus), ''Kermes'' (genus), a genus of insects
* Kermes (dye), a red dye made from the bodies of Kermes insects
* Kermes oak also called ''Quercus coccifera'', the tree on which the Kermes insects traditionally fed
...
'' (Balachowsky, 1953)
* ''
Kermes gibbosus'' Signoret, 1875
* ''
Kermes ilicis'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''
Kermes roboris'' (Fourcroy, 1785)
* ''
Kermes vermilio
''Kermes vermilio'' is a species of '' Kermes'' so which feeds on trees. Some of the species are used by humans to make vermilion; though an at-similar-time-of-discovery mineral form in many cultures is cinnabar (HgS, Mercury Sulphide, crystalli ...
'' Planchon, 1864
References
External links
Conservation and Art Material Encyclopedia Online
Kermesidae
Sternorrhyncha genera
{{Coccoidea-stub