What are they? Kermes is a scale insect. The females feed on the sap of evergreen oaks native to the Mediterranean region, namely the Kermes oak (Quercus coccifera) and the Palestine oak (Quercus calliprinos).

These parasites (the trees do not seem to suffer from them much) are living on the sap of the oak trees and they produce a red dye, also called "kermes", that is the source of natural red. The word "kermes" is derived from Persian or Turkish qirmiz or kirmizi (قرمز). Their red juice is a natural repellent for other insects and birds that love to feed on small grubs, and because they are not able to move at all they are easy prey.

In the old testament Kermes was used to dye wool a scarlet red called שָנִי in Hebrew, a bright red, slightly orange colour. The parasites were called תולעת שָנִי, scarlet worm or grub.

The term “scarlet” itself is a translation of the Greek word Kokkinos, which refers to the shape of the insect that dye is extracted from.

In the old days, before Cochineal was discovered in the Americas, this was the main staple to get scarlet red, but also then it was an expensive dye. It was typically a job for women and children to collect the Kermes that are hard to see for the naked eye. They then had to be steamed over vinegar and dried properly for storage.

To dye: best results are on wool at a minimum of 20% WOF, with an alum mordant (alum 24% and cream of tartar at 6%). We dyed our sample at 50% WOF