Scientists have discovered an unusual type of caterpillars

This is the caterpillar of the large wax moth

They will help professionals to find a way to save the environment from plastic waste. Spanish scientists accidentally discovered that they can eat the wax in bee hives, and plastic bags.

After that, researchers from Spain and the UK have conducted experiments. Caterpillars wrapped in a piece of tape. The first hole, it appeared after 40 minutes. And 12 hours 100 larvae ate about 100 milligrams of polyethylene.

Scientists say that compared to bacteria, caterpillars much faster eat and digest plastic waste. Now they want to find out which enzyme is produced by larvae of the wax moth. If you manage to discover the secret of this chemical, the experts will be able to create its synthetic analogue.

Every year the world produces about 80 million tons of polyethylene. The process of decomposition may take tens and even hundreds of years. According to scientists, the new method of dealing with plastic waste, you may be able to apply on a large scale. This will help to purify the earth and oceans.

Great wax moth is considered a pest. Caterpillars early in the development of eating bee honey and bee-bread. After that eating honeycomb wax. When larvae are too many bees may die or leave the hive.

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