CreatureData

Cochineal bug

Dactylopius confusus (Cockerell, 1893)

Status not recordedinsects

The cochineal bug (Dactylopius confusus) is a species in the family Dactylopiidae, order Hemiptera. Source checklists list it for 13 countries, including Algeria, Bahamas and Cuba.

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Quick facts about the cochineal bug

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
13 countriessrc for Countries on record

Where does the cochineal bug live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The cochineal bug is listed for 13 countries.

HaitiBahamasSouth AfricaMexicoPeruCubaZimbabweAlgeriaPakistanSri LankaEgyptEthiopia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Algeria
  2. Bahamas
  3. Cuba
  4. Egypt
  5. Ethiopia
  6. Haiti
  7. Mauritius
  8. Mexico
  9. Pakistan
  10. Peru
  11. South Africa
  12. Sri Lanka
  13. Zimbabwe

Is the cochineal bug endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the cochineal bug classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderHemiptera
  5. familyDactylopiidae
  6. genusDactylopius
  7. SpeciesDactylopius confusus (Cockerell, 1893)

Synonyms Acanthococcus confusus, Coccus cacti confusus, Coccus confusus, Coccus confusus subsp. capensis, Coccus tomentosus confusus, Coccus tomentosus subsp. newsteadi, Dactylopius confuses, Dactylopius confusus newsteadi, Dactylopius newsteadi, Pseudococcus confusus, Pseudococcus confusus newsteadi, Pseudococcus tomentosus newsteadi

Other names and names in other languages (8)
  • American cochineal bugEnglish
  • Barbary fig cochineal scaleEnglish
  • California cochinealEnglish
  • California cochineal scaleEnglish
  • Cloud cochineal bugEnglish
  • Jointed-cactus cochinealEnglish
  • حشرة التين القرمزية القشريةArabic
  • Grana cochinillaSpanish

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the cochineal bug

Other species in the same genus Dactylopius.

Cochineal

Dactylopius ceylonicus

DactylopiidaeNo free photo yet

CompareCochineal bug vs CochinealCochineal bug vs Prickly pear cochinealCochineal bug vs Tree cholla cochinealCochineal bug vs Cochineal

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Where does the cochineal bug live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the cochineal bug for 13 countries, including Algeria, Bahamas, Cuba, Egypt and Ethiopia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

What kind of animal is the cochineal bug?

The cochineal bug (Dactylopius confusus) belongs to the family Dactylopiidae in the order Hemiptera.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Cochineal bug (Dactylopius confusus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cochineal-bug

MLA

“Cochineal bug (Dactylopius confusus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cochineal-bug.

BibTeX
@misc{cochineal_bug_2026,
  title = {Cochineal bug (Dactylopius confusus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cochineal-bug},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}