Kermes (insect)

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]

Kermes
Kermes echinatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Hemiptera
Suborder:
Sternorrhyncha
Superfamily:
Coccoidea
Family:
Kermesidae
Genus:
Kermes

Latreille, 1798
Species

See text


There are some 20 species,[3] including:

  • Kermes bacciformis Leonardi, 1908
  • Kermes corticalis (Nassonov, 1908)
  • Kermes echinatus (Balachowsky, 1953)
  • Kermes gibbosus Signoret, 1875
  • Kermes ilicis (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Kermes roboris (Fourcroy, 1785)
  • Kermes vermilio Planchon, 1864

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.


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