Cochineal.
Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) are a cactus-dwelling beetle native to Mexico that produce a bright red dye when dried and crushed. It takes 70,000 insects to make one pound of dye, and only the female insects are used (I think there's a topical metaphor here)[1]. They were cultivated in precolonial times by the Mixtec and Zapotec people of Oaxaca for pigment for homes and cotton[2]. By the time Thiery de Menonville arrived in Mexico in the late 18th century, the Spanish had maintained a 250-year monopoly over the beetle and their product. By 1784, the Spanish were producing 1.5 million pounds of cochineal and were receiving 500,000 British pounds annually in Europe. The French, in particular, used cochineal dye for their famous Royale Gobelins tapestry works[3].
Further Reading
Cochineal: How Mexico Made the World See Red (online exhibit through the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture)
Cochineal: How Mexico Made the World See Red (online exhibit through the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture)