Ancient "dye" bugs back in demand
Cochineal insects are seen in a box at a lab of the Cochineal Campaign in Nopaltepec, Mexico, Sept. 30, 2014.
In the shadow of the massive El Popo volcano, cactus growers in Mexico are helping to revive an ancient dying tradition with the help of a tiny bug that feeds off the country's prickly pears.
The humble cochineal insect once occupied a proud place in pre-Hispanic culture as a natural dye for clothes and art. But over the years synthetic colors and the bug's parasitic nature saw it lose favor with local farmers.
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Pigment extracted from the cochineal insects are displayed at a Cochineal Campaign lab in Nopaltepec.
Recently worldwide demand for the bug has come from unlikely sources such as Starbucks and fashionistas and growers of the insects are cashing in.
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A man works at his nopal cactus field in Nopaltepec, Sept. 30, 2014.
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Florencio Campos walks out from a greenhouse where he cultivates cochineal insects in Huejotzingo, Mexico, Sept. 25, 2014.
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A man arranges nopal cactus leafs before hanging them at a greenhouse used to cultivate cochineal insects in Huejotzingo, Mexico, Sept. 25, 2014.
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A man looks for a place to hang nopal cactus leafs at a greenhouse used to cultivate cochineal insects in Huejotzingo, Mexico, Sept. 25, 2014.
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A man brushes cochineal insects off a nopal cactus leaf at a greenhouse used to cultivate cochineal insects in Huejotzingo, Mexico, Sept. 25, 2014.
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Cochineal insects are seen on a nopal cactus leaf at a greenhouse used to cultivate cochineal insects in Nopaltepec, Mexico, Sept. 30, 2014.
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Cochineal insect eggs are seen through a microscope at a lab of the Cochineal Campaign in Nopaltepec, Mexico, Sept. 30, 2014.
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Nopal cactus leafs, infested with cochineal insects, are seen hanging at a greenhouse in Huejotzingo, Mexico, Sept. 25, 2014.
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A man selects cochineal insects at a greenhouse used to cultivate cochineal insects in Huejotzingo, Mexico, Sept. 25, 2014.
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A man crushes a cochineal insect to show its red color, at a greenhouse used to cultivate cochineal insects in Huejotzingo, Mexico, Sept. 25, 2014.
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Cochineal insects are seen through a microscope at a lab of the Cochineal Campaign in Nopaltepec, Mexico, Sept. 30, 2014.
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Cochineal insects are seen on a nopal cactus leaf in Nopaltepec, Mexico, Sept. 30, 2014.
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A man arranges nopal cactus leafs at a greenhouse used to cultivate cochineal insects in Huejotzingo, Mexico, Sept. 25, 2014.