Laccifer lacca

Oaks and especially Quercus coccifera are host plants for Kermes ilicis, producing the red kermes pigment. In Asia, the Laccifer lacca insects that grow on trees like Schleichera oleosa, Ziziphus mauritiana, and Butea monsperma are the sources of the red lac dye. - ... 

Lac is derived from lac resin, the hardened secretion of the lac insect, the only known resin of animal origin. The lac insect, Kerria lacca, formerly known as Laccifer lacca, is a natural parasite of a variety of trees in large areas of southern Asia. Three different products are derived from lac resin lac dye, lac wax, and shellac. To obtain the lac resin, twigs encrusted with the secretion of the insects are cut down from the trees, then the incrustation is separated from the twigs, washed with water, and filtered. The wax and shellac, which are insoluble in water, remain as a solid residue of the filtration, while the soluble red dye (lac) is obtained as a powder when the water from the filtered solution is evaporated. The coloring matter in lac dye is an organic compound known as laccaic acid. 

Coccus laccae [= Laccifer lacca Kerr], Ins., associated to certain trees in India MI... 

Gum Lac or Shellac. It is obtd from a resin secreted by the insect Laccifer lacca and deposited on the twigs of various species of trees in India, Siam and Indo-China. The collected material is dried, ground and washed to remove the adherent red dye. 

Insects also produce polymers. For example, silk is made by a caterpillar called a silkworm. One silkworms cocoon can contain as much as 900 to 3,000 feet (300 to 900 m) of silk thread. An insect called the Laccifer lacca—or just Lac, for short—lives on trees in India and Southeast Asia. The insects drink the sap from the trees they are living on and produce a polymer that is used to make lacquer and shellac. People use these varnishes to coat and protect ships, houses, wood floors, furniture, and other objects made of wood. 

Kerria lacca KERR (Coccus laccae, Laccifer lacca KERR) (Coccidae) (C.I. Natural Red 25)... 

Shellac was in use by 1856. It is another natural polymer and is based on a secretion from an insect, Laccifer lacca - the lac insect - which is a plant parasite. To produce shellac, the secretion and the insects are scraped off plants and filtered, resulting in a hard, brittle thermoplastic material. It is mixed with wood flour or a mineral filler, pressed, and steamed, dyed, and rolled into sheets to be moulded. 

Laccifer lacca Kerr), and is widely used for coloring food. It is known that the red color is derived from a water-soluble pigment including laccaic acids A, B, C, and E. Cochineal color extracted from the dried female bodies of the scale insect (Coccus cacti L.) is water-soluble and has a reddish color. The main coloring component is carmic acid. 

Derivation A natural resin secreted by the insect Laccifer lacca (Coccus lacca) and deposited on the twigs of trees in India. After collection, washing, and purification by melting and filtering, it is formed into thin sheets, that are later fragmented into flakes of orange shellac. This may be dewaxed and bleached to a transparent product. Soluble in alcohol insoluble in water. 

Laocaic adds (C. I. natural red 25). A group of red an-thraquinone pigments excreted from glands of scale insect species (e.g., Laccifer lacca, Tachardia laced) living in South East Asia on Butea monosperma (Fabaceae) and Zizyphus mauritiana (Rhamnaceae) as host plants and used as pigments for cosmetics and foods. 

Schale Muschel shellac (from Laccifer lacca)... 

Lac is the scarlet secretion of a number of species of insects of several genera, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca (syn. Laccifer lacca, Kerriidae). The main producers of lac are India and Malaysia. Lac pigment is a complex mixture of laccaic acids (9-177 and 9-178), erythrolaccin and deoxyerythro-laccin (9-179). 

Shellac, which was erroneously called Indian amber by Pliny (a.d. 23-79), is made from one of the few resins obtained from insects. This resin, called lac, is secreted by a coccid insect (Laccifer lacca) that feeds on the lac trees in India and Thailand. The resin was used in making lac sticks to coat rotating objects on a lathe over 3000 years ago. 

S. is the hardened, resinous secretion of the shell louse (Kerria lacca or Laccifer lacca), domestic in India, Burma and Thailand, and functions as a protective cover for the larvae. 

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