Two species of waxworm, Galleria mellonella and Plodia interpunctella have both been observed eating and digesting polyethylene plastic. The waxworms metabolize polyethylene plastic films into ethylene glycol, a compound which biodegrades rapidly. This unusual ability to digest matter classically thought of as non-edible may originate with the waxworm's ability to digest beeswax as a result of gut microbes that are essential in the biodegradation process. Two strains of bacteria, Enterobacter asburiae and Bacillus sp, isolated from the guts of Plodia interpunctella waxworms, have been shown to decompose polyethylene in laboratory testing. In a test with a 28-day incubation period of these two strains of bacteria on polyethylene films, the films' hydrophobicity decreased. In addition, damage to the films' surface with pits and cavities (0.3-0.4 μm in depth) was observed using scanning electron microscopy and atomic-force microscopy. Placed in a polyethylene shopping bag, approximately 100 Galleria mellonella waxworms consumed almost 0.1 gram (0.0032 ounces) of the plastic over the course of 12 hours in laboratory conditions. Studies carried out in 2020 by Bastian Barton at the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability (LBF) (https://www.lbf.fraunhofer.de/en.html) in Darmstadt, Germany, disproved the ability of Galleria melonella caterpillars to digest and biologically degrade polyethylene. Even though the waxworms would eat holes into polyethylene bags, they ingested only a small proportion, excreted the polyethylene unaltered and showed significant loss of body weight. See also Pyralidae Mealworm Pyralis regalis Hypsopygia mauritialis References Agricultural pest insects Fishing equipment Galleriinae Insect rearing Pet foods Western honey bee pests Insects in culture Insect common names Beekeeping