lac insect

Small plant-sucking insect related to scale insects and mealy bugs. The females of most species lack legs and have reduced antennae; their bodies are globular and enclosed within a dense resinous secretion called lac.

Lac insects are members of the family Lacciferidae, order Hemiptera (suborder Homoptera), class Insecta, phylum Arthropoda.

A number of species have two generations annually, in which two types of males occur: the first generation includes both winged and wingless males; the second generation is wingless.

Many species used to be of considerable commercial value, as they yield a dye. However, with the advent of synthetic dyes the demand for lac insects has decreased.

The Indian lac insect, Laccifer lacca, produces stick lac, a secretion from which shellac (used in varnishes and polishes) is prepared.