Kermes (insect)

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.^[1] The word "kermes" is derived from Turkish qirmiz or kirmizi (قرمز), "crimson" (both the colour and the dyestuff),^[2] itself deriving from Persian *کرمست (*kermest) via Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷŕ̥mis (“worm”); it is related to the Persian word for worm کرم‎ kirm.^{[3]: 175–176}

The first instars are called "crawlers".^[4] They are less than 0.5 millimetres (0.020 in) long, salmon-colored, and wingless with well-developed legs.^[4] 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.^[4]

There are some 20 species,^[5] 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