New Natural History Prints for SciArtSeptember

 

Cochineal, linocut 8" x 8" by Ele Willoughby, 2023

 

For the SciArtSeptember prompt carmine, a bright red pigment derived from carminic acid, traditionally harvested from cochineal, a sessile parasite on Opuntia cacti in South America, north through to Mexico and the southwest US, I made this linocut. The cochineal are laboriously collected by brushing them off the pads of prickly pear cacti. The insect makes carminic acid to deter predators but it’s precisely what attracts people, who dry them out, extract the acid and mix it with aluminum or calcium salts to make carmine dye.

The dye was important historically for textiles (prior to the invention of synthetic dyes in the 19th century). Aztec and Maya peoples were using it as early as the second century BCE. It was used in Peru from the Middle Horizon period (600-1000 CE). Moctezuma II demanded yearly tributes of cochineal dye by the 15th century. Aztecs used it in manuscripts. Colonial powers exploited the dye in the 16th century. It produced in places controlled by Spain and Portugal. It was the second most valuable export after silver. The British began using it to dye their red coats and were frustrated by the Mexican monopoly on trade. There have been various disastrous attempts to export the insects and dye production to places like Australia.

Today, in an effort to avoid synthetic dyes, cochineal is used in food and cosmetics and it may be in your lipstick.

 

Hummingbird Clearwing, linocut, 8" x 8" by Ele Willoughby, 2023

 

This is a hand-printed lino block print of the charming Hummingbird Clearwing moth (Hermaris thysbe) seeking pollen from cherry blossoms. The olive-headed burgundy moth has transparent wings (though colour can be variable). It beats its wings rapidly to hover above flowers, like a hummingbird, meaning it is often confused with a hummingbird or bee. It has a 5 cm wingspan. Its bulky abdomen has lead to its adorable nickname "the flying shrimp." The caterpillar likes to feed on cherry amongst other things and as a moth, it feeds on a wide range of flowers, with a preference for pink and purple, so I chose to illustrate it with cherry blossoms.

Its range covers most of North America. It is a migratory species which is common here in Ontario, and in the eastern US.

Its scientific name Hermaris thysbe is likely a reference to Thisbe, half of a pair of ill-fated lovers in Ovid's Metamorphoses and her blood-stained scarf. It's a reference to the moth's reddish-brown colour. 

Talon, tinted drypoint print by Ele Willoughby, 2023

For the #SciArtSeptember prompt talon, I tried drypoint using an aluminum pop can! I cut it open with strong kitchen scissors and incised a drawing of a harpy eagle talon with an exacto knife. I used some small leftover rectangles of mat board to get black relief printing ink into the lines and wiped away the excess with junkmail on newsprint - so the entire process was done using what would otherwise be garbage. I printed it using my small etching press, and tinted the talon by hand with gouache.