Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Cactus Attack!

Can you find me?The giant cactus in my backyard attacked me today.
Look! You can see little bits of my white fur all over it.
I swear, it tried to eat me alive!
And BLU didn't even try to save me!


hehehe...just kidding

Know what those white things are?
They are bugs!
They are bugs called cochineal scales.
Click here to see how gross they look up close.
What kind of goofy bug looks like that?

The really cool thing is that when you squish them, they have bright red blooooood!
People used to dye their clothes with this red bug blood.
And they still make some brands of lipstick out of it too!

Do you think this lady knows that she might be rubbing squished bug blood all over her lips?

{the girl adds....to know if your cosmetics or red colored foods contain the dye from this bug, look for ingredients called carmine or cochineal extract}

15 comments:

The Husky in the Window said...

Yeeeee, mom will never use lipstick again. We are so glad you are safe from that catcus patch. Wow, that's just tooo scary.

You'all got an award. Check it out. You'all deserve it.

Husky Hugs, MayaMarie

Lacy said...

woofies U 2, b careful of dose cactus, dey bite....and bite harwd....

b safe,
;)lacylulu

Amber said...

You are surrounded by cactus!! glad you weren't hurt. Whoa, I didn't know that. are all lipsticks like that

Amber :)

Urban Smoothie Read said...

that's gross...!!

luckily ms owner dun fancy using lipstick...

Joe Stains said...

I just threw up on the keyboard, woops.

Amber-Mae said...

Yikes, what bug is that??? It looks pretty gross! Looks moldy too. Is it a plant disease or something? Some of our plants got attacked by the disease too but they are now being treated with some smelly chemical.

Love licks,
Solid Gold Dancer

Molly the Airedale said...

Mom won't ever be using red lipstick again! ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Those cactus are just awesome! They're so pretty in your yard! I guess they can be pretty deadly too if you get too friendly!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

Luckie Girl said...

Mom says she's glad she doesn't use any lipstick. hehee...

Hana said...

EW!!! That gives us something to ponder this morning. I am afraid to click on the link to find out more about those bugs.

JB's Big and Small Worlds said...

Those are some gross bugs! I don't want to post them ever on my blog! I think you had better stay away from the cactus (cacti?). They could even prick you through all your furs!
--JB

Peanut said...

That is gross.

Gus, Louie and Callie said...

wow it really did look like that cactus attacked you. We didn't know that those bugs bled too.. That is a great story..


Big Sloppy Kisses
Gus and Louie

Lorenza said...

Yuck!
Stay away from those mean cactus!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

Unknown said...

Comet ewwwwww.... so glad the cactus didn't get you!! That's pretty cool stuff, even though bugs really get my mom screamin' Yikes!

Loves,
Tofu

Gus, Louie and Callie said...

Yepper I was eating Louie's dust. He is getting so big and so fast.

Big Sloppy Kisses
Gus and Louie