Cochineal
Cochineal was an elderly female HiveWing queen. She was Scarab's sister and Wasp's mother, along with the other Hive rulers excluding Jewel.
Personality
She was described by Hawthorn as deceitful and power-hungry, and Lady Scarab stated that Cochineal was an expert liar. However, Cochineal wasn't as bad as Queen Wasp, as Lady Scarab stated to her niece that Cochineal would have hated to see what Wasp had done to the HiveWings and would've disapproved, if not hated her daughter's tyranny, suggesting she greatly loved and cared about her tribe. Cochineal was said to have respected the other tribes' monarchies, meaning she also was most likely was fine with ruling only one tribe and was not power-hungry enough to go to war for more power, likely because of the harm it would do to her tribe. She later told Cricket that while Cochineal wasn't the best queen, she wasn't as bad as Wasp. To her exact words, her sister "was [not] any picnic as a ruler, but at least she wasn't a dictatorial zombie-making maniac". This also may mean she had a good relationship with her sister and had been trusted by her mother to take the throne after her.
Biography
The Lost Continent Prophecy
Lady Scarab mentioned Cochineal in a conversation with Cricket, saying that she was told that the Book of Clearsight said that Cochineal must be the next Queen. Lady Scarab also said that her sister was a much better liar than she was, which was likely why she was chosen by their mother. According to Lady Scarab, Cochineal's daughters and Lady Jewel could not be mind-controlled by Wasp as they were hatched around the same time as Wasp.
She was mentioned rather briefly by Hawthorn during his recounting of the Tree Wars, comparing her to Wasp.
Family Tree
| Cicada | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Several Generations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unknown | Cochineal | Scarab | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bloodworm | Cicada | Hornet | Mantis | Jewel | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tsetse | Vinegaroon | Wasp | Yellowjacket | Unnamed Dragons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HiveWings | |
|---|---|
| Queens | |
| Royalty |
Bloodworm • Cicada • Hornet • Mantis • Scarab • Tsetse • Vinegaroon • Yellowjacket |
| Other Dragons |
Aphid • Bombardier • Bumblebee • Cadelle • Carabid • Chafer • Cricket • Dragonfly • Earthworm • Earwig • Inchworm • Grasshopper • Hawker • Glowworm • Katydid • Librarian • Lubber • Malachite • Midge • Pinacate • Rootworm • Sandfly • Treehopper • Weevil |
| Kingdom |
Bloodworm Hive • Cicada Hive • Hornet Hive • Jewel Hive • Mantis Hive • Tsetse Hive • Vinegaroon Hive • Wasp Hive • Yellowjacket Hive |
| Society | |
