Kermes (genus)

Kermes
Kermes echinatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Sternorrhyncha
Superfamily:	Coccoidea
Family:	Kermesidae
Genus:	Kermes Latreille, 1798
Species
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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. The word "kermes" is derived from Arabic/Persian qirmiz (قرمز), which means "red" or "crimson" (probably via Middle Persian, from (ultimately) Sanskrit कृमिज kṛmi-ja meaning "worm-made").

There are six species:

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Wikipedia