Coccus scarlet, also known as kermes, was a dye that yielded a brilliant-red, or scarlet, color. The dye was extracted from the bodies of female insects of the Coccidae family. These wingless insects live on the kermes oak tree (Quercus coccifera), native to the Middle East and the Mediterranean Coast. The scarlet color is contained in the eggs carried inside the body of the female. In that state, the insect resembles a berry, about the size and form of a pea, attached to the leaves and twigs of the kermes oak. After being handpicked and crushed, the insects yield a scarlet color, soluble in water and suitable for dyeing cloth. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder mentioned coccus scarlet and counted it among the highly esteemed colors of his day.

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Insects used in preparing the dye

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Courtesy of SDC Colour Experience (www.sdc.org.uk)