Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infested. Thousands of lac insects colonize the branches of the host trees and secrete the resinous pigment. The coated branches of the host trees are cut and harvested as sticklac.

How do lac insects produce lac?

The female lac insects that live for relatively longer period after fertilization are therefore, the chief sources of lac secretion. As the lac insects are usually situated close together, the lac secretion from adjacent cells coalesces with each other and forms a continuous encrustation on the branches.

What is lac stick?

: lac in its natural state that encrusts small twigs and the bodies of lac insects and is scraped off and dried in the shade to become the source of seed lac, lac dye, and shellac wax.