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chained_bear commented on the word Dahua Yitz
"There were, of course, many questions about cochineal biology... Chief among them was the subject of cochineal procreation.... Unfortunately, the only Oaxacan witness who addressed the issue was the corregidor, who reported that when (the cochineal) grow large, a small Butterfly passes and re-passes over them"; the corregidor added that the Indians believed this "butterfly" was responsible for cochineal conception. Both he and Ruusscher were somewhat skeptical of this theory. To them, it seemed natural that like should breed with like. How, then, could a butterfly breed with a cochineal?
"The word butterfly, however, appears to have merely been a bad Spanish translation. A 1777 document states that the local Mixtec term for the same insect was Dahua Yitz which means 'flying husband.' Evidently, Indian growers were well acquainted with the truth: male cochineal was a flying insect, which traveled from cactus to cactus copulating with females."
Amy Butler Greenfield, A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire (New York: Harper Collins, 2005), 163.
October 6, 2017