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These superworms can turn plastic into a meal – and they could hold a possible solution to plastic recycling in the future.
For example, mealworms fed only on plastic show very little weight gain, unlike mealworms fed on a normal diet of bran. [5] This is due to plastic lacking water and nutrients needed to grow. [ 5 ] Plastic-fed mealworms can still derive energy from their diet, so they do not lose weight like starved mealworms do.
Zophobas atratus is a species of darkling beetle, whose larvae are known by the common name superworm, kingworm, barley worm, morio worm or simply Zophobas.Superworms are common in the reptile pet industry as food, along with giant mealworms (Tenebrio molitor larvae treated with juvenile hormone [citation needed]).
Superworms should not be confused with darkling beetle mealworms sprayed with juvenile hormone. [6] Studies have found that in the wild the larvae sometimes live in bat guano, and they tend to cannibalize the pupae of their own species. [7] Researchers have discovered that the larvae can subsist on a diet solely of polystyrene (Styrofoam). [8]
Hung Vu for The University of QueenslandPlastic is choking our environment. About 400 million tons of plastic waste is thrown out every year with between 75 to 199 million tons floating in oceans ...
In 2016, it was also reported that superworms (Zophobas morio) may eat expanded polystyrene (EPS). [30] A group of high school students in Ateneo de Manila University found that compared to Tenebrio molitor larvae, Zophobas morio larvae may consume greater amounts of EPS over longer periods of time.
Local chefs, restaurants and food and beverage companies have been experimenting with different ways to safely serve up insects in dishes like salted egg crabs with superworms and products like ...
Placed in a polyethylene shopping bag, about 100 Galleria mellonella waxworms consumed almost 0.1 g (0.0035 oz) of the plastic over the course of 12 hours in laboratory conditions. [ 13 ] A non-peer reviewed research study in 2020 questioned the ability of G. mellonella caterpillars to digest and biologically degrade polyethylene.