People eat the fruit of some kinds of cactus, such as dragonfruit and prickly pear. "Dactylopius coccus" is a scale insect from which cochineal dye is got. This insect lives on cacti from the genus "Opuntia", feeding on moisture and nutrients in the cactus sap. The insect produces carminic acid, which deters predation by other insects. The carminic acid can be extracted from the insect's body and eggs to make the red dye.