We seem to be within a great honeycomb
of light, the burning center of an
immense flaming rose.
from: Platero and I
by: Juan Jimenez
In the deserts of Arizona I learned about a beetle who has some magic 'juice' within its being. Gods' wonders never cease to amaze!! This world in which we live is full of 'em!! Sonny-who was our guide through the desert- picked off this tiny, really tiny speck of a bug (that was too small to identify as a bug-we just took his word for it) off a particular species of cactus and smashed this flea sized dot onto the palm of his hand.
One speck, surrounded in a dot of spittle, produced this!! Turns out its a powerful dye! A dye used in almost everything we see and use that is red or pink. Its in our drinks, our candies and our clothing etc...its in dye #40 and others. Very Interesting, very interesting indeed. You and I will never look at the color red again without thinking of the Cochineal beetle.
Once again I marvel at the many wonders of a desert environment!!
One speck, surrounded in a dot of spittle, produced this!! Turns out its a powerful dye! A dye used in almost everything we see and use that is red or pink. Its in our drinks, our candies and our clothing etc...its in dye #40 and others. Very Interesting, very interesting indeed. You and I will never look at the color red again without thinking of the Cochineal beetle.
Once again I marvel at the many wonders of a desert environment!!
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