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Kermes (insect)

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(Redirected from Coccus ilicis) Genus of gall-like scale insects

Kermes
Kermes echinatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Sternorrhyncha
Family: Kermesidae
Genus: Kermes
Latreille, 1798
Species

See text

Kermes is a genus of gall-like scale insects in the family Kermesidae. They feed on the sap of oaks; the females produce a red dye, also called "kermes", that is the source of natural crimson. The word "kermes" is derived from Turkish qirmiz or kirmizi (قرمز), "crimson" (both the colour and the dyestuff), itself deriving from Persian *کرمست (*kermest) via Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷŕ̥mis (“worm”).

The first instars are called "crawlers". They are less than 0.5 millimetres (0.020 in) long, salmon-colored, and wingless with well-developed legs. As adults, they demonstrate significant sexual dimorphism. Males are gnat-like with fragile wings, while females are bulbous with reduced legs and antennas, and are easily mistaken for buds or galls.

There are some 20 species, including:

References

  1. Naturenet article with images and description of Kermes vermilio and its foodplant
  2. "Crimson (n.)". Etymology Online. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  3. "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/kʷŕ̥mis", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2022-05-10, retrieved 2024-02-08
  4. ^ Turner, Jay Cee; Buss, Eileen A.; Mayfield, Albert E., III (June 2005). "Kermes Scales (Hemiptera: Kermesidae) on Oaks" (PDF). Entomology Circular (416). Fla. Dept. of Agriculture & Cons. Svs. Division of Plant Industry.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. 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. Bibcode:2012ZooK..246...11S. doi:10.3897/zookeys.246.3766. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 3520143. PMID 23275748.

External links

Taxon identifiers
Kermes


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