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The pads of various species of Opuntia are sometimes dotted with a white, sticky, cottony mass that turns out to have an interesting natural history.  Dactylopus coccus, the small red Cochineal Bug, creates a haven for itself by constructing this mass.  Centuries ago human beings found that they could collect the Cochineal Bug from the white mass, crush the bug, and obtain a bright red liquid that could be used as a dye.  Fields were planted in Opuntia and the Cochineal Bugs were raised on these Opuntia --  at great financial cost.  The dye was most frequently used for the attire of Kings.

The photos at left show Opuntia phaeacantha and resident masses of Cochineal. I used a twig to remove one cottony mass and I then spread the mass on a rock.  Immediately a bright red liquid oozed out and quickly dried to dark maroon.

You can read more about the Cochineal Bug at many sites online.  See, for instance: http://www.cochinealdye.com/html/biology.html
and
https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/ecoph3.htm

It is common to see both Opuntia phaeacantha (pictured here) and Opuntia polyacantha sprawling along the ground in a maze-like configuration.  Sands collect on the uphill side and eventually bury the pads but new pads arise from the old and the plants live on.