Cactus scattered cochineal

The white wax protects it from heat, cold and hungry enemies.

Grown-up females never move. They live together in groups of up to a few thousand.

Its body makes a bright red colour called carminic acid.

In 1932 people brought it to South Africa to get rid of wild prickly pear, and it helped turn huge areas back into sheep farms.

The eggs hatch under the mother's body, sometimes in just a few hours.