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Lac
 
 
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Lac is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of insects, namely some of the species of the families Metatachardia, Laccifer, Tachordiella, Austrotacharidia, Afrotachardina, and Tachardina of the superfamily Coccoidea, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca.

The abovementioned families are some of the 28 families of scale insect
Scale insect

The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects....
s and mealy bugs comprising a large group of about 8000 described species of plant sucking insects, a few of which produce similar natural products (e.g., cochineal
Cochineal

'Cochineal' is a scale insect insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the crimson-colored dye, carmine, is derived. There are other species in the genus Dactylopius which can be used to produce cochineal extract, but they are extremely difficult to distinguish from D....
 and crimson
Crimson

Crimson is a strong, bright, deep red color combined with some blue, resulting in a tiny degree of purple. It is originally the color of the dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now also used for slightly bluish-red colors in general that are between red and rose ....
).






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Lac is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of insects, namely some of the species of the families Metatachardia, Laccifer, Tachordiella, Austrotacharidia, Afrotachardina, and Tachardina of the superfamily Coccoidea, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca.

The abovementioned families are some of the 28 families of scale insect
Scale insect

The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects....
s and mealy bugs comprising a large group of about 8000 described species of plant sucking insects, a few of which produce similar natural products (e.g., cochineal
Cochineal

'Cochineal' is a scale insect insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the crimson-colored dye, carmine, is derived. There are other species in the genus Dactylopius which can be used to produce cochineal extract, but they are extremely difficult to distinguish from D....
 and crimson
Crimson

Crimson is a strong, bright, deep red color combined with some blue, resulting in a tiny degree of purple. It is originally the color of the dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now also used for slightly bluish-red colors in general that are between red and rose ....
). Thousands of these tiny insects colonize branches of suitable host trees and secrete the resinous pigment. The coated branches of the host trees are cut and harvested as sticklac.

The harvested sticklac is crushed and sieved to remove impurities. The sieved material is then repeatedly washed to remove insect parts and other soluble material. The resulting product is known as seedlac. The prefix seed refers to its pellet shape. It is used in violin
Violin

The violin is a Bow string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
 and other varnish
Varnish

Varnish is a Transparency , hard, protective finish or film primarily used in wood finishing but also for other materials. Varnish is traditionally a combination of a drying oil, a resin, and a Turpentine substitute or solvent....
 and is soluble in alcohol
Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl Functional group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group....
. This type of lac was used in the finishing of 18th century fowling guns in the US. Seedlac which still contains 3-5% impurities is processed into shellac
Shellac

Shellac is a resin secreted by the female Laccifer lacca to form a cocoon, on trees in the forests of India and Thailand.. It is processed and sold as dry flakes , which are dissolved in denatured alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and wood finish much like a combination of stain and polyuretha...
 by heat treatment or solvent extraction.

Lac production is found in Assam
Assam

Assam ) is a North-East India state of India with its capital at Dispur, in the outskirts of the city Guwahati. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra and the Barak River river valleys and the Karbi Anglong District and the North Cachar Hills with an area of 30,285 square miles ....
 and other parts of North-East India
North-East India

North-East India refers to the easternmost region of India consisting of the contiguous Seven Sister States, Sikkim, and parts of North Bengal ....
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh

, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south....
, Myanmar
Myanmar

Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia, or Indochina. The country is bordered by the People's Republic of China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, and the Bay of Bengal to the southwest with...
, Thailand
Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
, Laos
Laos

Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....
, Vietnam
Vietnam

Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
 and parts of China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. It is also found in Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
.

Host trees

Kerria lacca can be cultivated on either cultivated or wild host trees.
  • In India the most common host trees are
    • Dhak
      Butea monosperma

      Butea monosperma , is a species of Butea native to tropical southern Asia, from Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and western Indonesia....
       (Butea monosperma
      Butea monosperma

      Butea monosperma , is a species of Butea native to tropical southern Asia, from Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and western Indonesia....
      )
    • Ber
      Ziziphus mauritiana

      Ziziphus mauritiana is a tropical fruit tree species, belonging to the family Rhamnaceae. It is native to southern Asia though it is also cultivated and naturalisation elsewhere in the dry tropics, notably in Africa....
       (Ziziphus mauritiana
      Ziziphus mauritiana

      Ziziphus mauritiana is a tropical fruit tree species, belonging to the family Rhamnaceae. It is native to southern Asia though it is also cultivated and naturalisation elsewhere in the dry tropics, notably in Africa....
      )
    • Kusum (Schleichera oleosa)
  • In Thailand the most common host trees are
    • Rain tree (Samanea saman
      Samanea saman

      Albizia saman is known under a wide range of common names, such as Saman, Rain Tree or Monkey Pod . It is often placed in the genus Samanea, which by yet other authors is subsumed in Albizia entirely....
      )
    • Pigeon pea
      Pigeon pea

      The pigeon pea is a perennial member of the family Fabaceae. Other common names are arhar , Rohor , red gram, toovar/toor , tuvaram paruppu ,toovara paruppu ,'togari , Kandi , gandul, guandul, guandu, Congo pea, Gungo pea, Gunga pea, and no-eye pea....
       (Cajanus cajan
      Pigeon pea

      The pigeon pea is a perennial member of the family Fabaceae. Other common names are arhar , Rohor , red gram, toovar/toor , tuvaram paruppu ,      toovara paruppu ,'togari , Kandi , gandul, guandul, guandu, Congo pea, Gungo pea, Gunga pea, and no-eye pea....
      )
  • In China the common host trees include
    • Pigeon pea
      Pigeon pea

      The pigeon pea is a perennial member of the family Fabaceae. Other common names are arhar , Rohor , red gram, toovar/toor , tuvaram paruppu ,      toovara paruppu ,'togari , Kandi , gandul, guandul, guandu, Congo pea, Gungo pea, Gunga pea, and no-eye pea....
       (Cajanus cajan
      Pigeon pea

      The pigeon pea is a perennial member of the family Fabaceae. Other common names are arhar , Rohor , red gram, toovar/toor , tuvaram paruppu ,      toovara paruppu ,'togari , Kandi , gandul, guandul, guandu, Congo pea, Gungo pea, Gunga pea, and no-eye pea....
      )
    • Hibiscus
      Hibiscus

      Scientific name:Hibiscus rosa-sinensisThe Genus Hibiscus comprises plants also commonly called hibiscus and less widely known as rosemallow....
       species
  • In Mexico
    • Barbados nut
      Jatropha curcas

      Jatropha curcas, Barbados nut or Physic nut is a perennial poisonous shrub belonging to the Euphorbiaceae or spurge family. It is an uncultivated non-food wild-species....
       (Jatropha curcas
      Jatropha curcas

      Jatropha curcas, Barbados nut or Physic nut is a perennial poisonous shrub belonging to the Euphorbiaceae or spurge family. It is an uncultivated non-food wild-species....
      )


Uses

The use of lac dye
Dye

A dye can generally be described as a colored substance that has an Chemical affinity to the Wiktionary:substrate to which it is being applied....
 goes back to ancient times. It has been used in India as a skin cosmetic and dye for wool and silk. In China it is a traditional dye for leather goods. The use of lac for dye has been supplanted by synthetic dyes. It is used in medicine as hepatoprotective and antiobesity drug.

See also

  • Lacquer
    Lacquer

    In a general sense, lacquer is a clear or coloured varnish that dries by solvent evaporation and often a curing process as well that produces a hard, durable finish, in any sheen level from ultra matte to high Gloss and that can be further polished as required....
     - A product that was at one time made from lac, but in modern common usage now refers to a separate product with similar properties.
  • Shellac
    Shellac

    Shellac is a resin secreted by the female Laccifer lacca to form a cocoon, on trees in the forests of India and Thailand.. It is processed and sold as dry flakes , which are dissolved in denatured alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and wood finish much like a combination of stain and polyuretha...
     - A glaze used on many edible products such as Skittles
    Skittles (confectionery)

    Skittles is a brand of chewy fruit candies produced and marketed by Mars, Incorporated. They have hard sugar shells which carry the letter S....


External links

  • Beads and other products produced with the help of lac. Manufacturing process and information on site.
  • The Jatropha Website, for production in Mexico
    Mexico

    The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....