Waxworms can chew plastic with help of bacteria in their gut

10 Mar 2020

Waxworms can chew plastic with help of bacteria in their gut

Waxworms can chew plastic with help of bacteria in their gutIn 2017, scientist discovered that the waxworm caterpillar could chew plastic. Yes, what a wonderful solution to manage the plastic waste polluting our environment!

And so, scientists have been studying the waxworm for the last few years.
 	Recently, they published their findings on how exactly the waxworms were digesting the plastic.

How do waxworms digest plastic?

The waxworms are able to digest the plastic with the help of bacteria present inside their stomach or gut.
 	These gut bacteria or microbes can survive on plastic alone for a year.
 	But when the bacteria was isolated out of the caterpillar and worked alone, it took longer for the plastic to break down.
 	This means that only when the caterpillar and the bacteria work together, the breaking down or degradation of the plastic is faster.

What is next?

Scientists need to continue to study the waxworms in order to find more information.
 	This finding will help to create instruments and tools that can be used in the future to deal with the plastic in our environment.

How was the waxworm discovered eating plastic?

In 2017, a scientist beekeeper put the waxworms in a plastic bag. The waxworms are considered as pests and eat the wax from the honeycomb of bees.
 	But to the surprise of the scientist, the waxworms had chewed holes in the plastic bag.

So, this is how the researchers began studying the waxworm and its digestive system in more detail.

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In 2017, scientist discovered that the waxworm caterpillar could chew plastic. Yes, what a wonderful solution to manage the plastic waste polluting our environment! And […]

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