04-13-2007, 10:45 PM
This is what Wikipedia has to say about lac:
Lac is the scarlet resinous secretion of the insect Kerria lacca.Kerria lacca is also known by some junior synonyms such as Laccifer lacca, Carteria lacca and Tachardia lacca. However, the oldest name Kerria lacca should be used according to the rules of International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Kerria lacca belongs to the lac insect family Kerriidae, one of some 28 families of scale insects and mealy bugs belonging to the superfamily Coccoidea, a large group of about 8000 described species of plant sucking insects. Thousands of these tiny insects colonize branches of suitable host trees and secrete the resinous pigment. The coated branches of the host trees are cut and harvested as sticklac.
The harvested sticklac is crushed and sieved to remove impurities. The sieved material is then repeatedly washed to remove insect parts and other soluble material. The resulting product is known as seedlac. The prefix seed refers to its pellet shape. It is used in violin and other varnish and is soluble in alcohol. This type of shellac was used in the finishing of 18th century fowling guns in the US. Seedlac which still contains 3-5% impurities is processed into shellac by heat treatment or solvent extraction.
Allen
Baton Rouge, LA & HPP
Lac is the scarlet resinous secretion of the insect Kerria lacca.Kerria lacca is also known by some junior synonyms such as Laccifer lacca, Carteria lacca and Tachardia lacca. However, the oldest name Kerria lacca should be used according to the rules of International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Kerria lacca belongs to the lac insect family Kerriidae, one of some 28 families of scale insects and mealy bugs belonging to the superfamily Coccoidea, a large group of about 8000 described species of plant sucking insects. Thousands of these tiny insects colonize branches of suitable host trees and secrete the resinous pigment. The coated branches of the host trees are cut and harvested as sticklac.
The harvested sticklac is crushed and sieved to remove impurities. The sieved material is then repeatedly washed to remove insect parts and other soluble material. The resulting product is known as seedlac. The prefix seed refers to its pellet shape. It is used in violin and other varnish and is soluble in alcohol. This type of shellac was used in the finishing of 18th century fowling guns in the US. Seedlac which still contains 3-5% impurities is processed into shellac by heat treatment or solvent extraction.
Allen
Baton Rouge, LA & HPP
Allen
Finally in HPP
Finally in HPP
