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Research suggests that wax worms may be a solution to our ever increasing plastics problem.
A new study coming from the Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria in Spain suggests that a rather common species of caterpillar may be a solution to our ever increasing problem with plastic bags.
The plastics problem is the well-known fact that landfills are overflowing. Our oceans now have garbage patches, and there is a general litter in communities from Chicago to Calcutta. However, this new research may have found a potential solution in one of the simplest of creatures, a type of caterpillar, a fix discovered by accident.
Could Wax Worms Solve our Plastics Problem?
Federica Bertocchini, who works at the Spanish National Research Council and the Cantabria Institute, is also a beekeeper in her spare time. Wax worms are named just that because they are often found munching away on the wax inside beehives. Dr. Bertocchini removed several of these inches long worms from one of her hives. She then placed them inside a common polyethylene bag like you would get at any grocery store. This is the same material that wraps meats and vegetables. Or books, clothes, and many other products as well.
“I…put them in a plastic bag while I cleaned the panels,” Bertocchini said. “After finishing, I went back to the room where I had left the worms, and I found that they were everywhere. They had escaped from the bag, even though it had been closed.”
She found tiny holes eaten in the bag, through which the worms escaped. This sparked a whole new study, whose results were published in the Current Biology journal. Research shows that the caterpillars can digest the conventional plastic. They seem to be capable of turning the notoriously long-lived material into usable nutrients.
Using these worms in landfills or as part of an oceanic based cleanup system might be a potential solution to our plastics problem. In fact, these worms are usable themselves as animal feed, bait, or for other purposes. Now, they may also be pointing to a natural way of returning plastic safely to the food chain.
Image Source: Pixabay
