Scientists Discover Plastic-Eating Caterpillars
The creature’s digestive system can break down polyethylene, a rare feat in the animal world.
Federica Bertocchini, a researcher who studies chicken embryos in Spain, is a beekeeper in her spare time. She was cleaning some old beehives recently and found they were infested with waxworms. The creatures are a pest for those who keep bees: The larvae chew through hives before eventually hatching into moths.
“In cleaning the beehives, I put, who works at the Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria. Very few organisms are known to break down plastic, and when she realized the import of this accidental find, “We started moving right away.”
