Scientists have discovered that a certain type of “supercook” can actually eat plastic, pointing the way to a possible solution to the problem of plastic waste.
The “worms” are actually the larvae of Zophobes is dyinga type of dark beetle, and are closely related to another species, The darkness whose larvae are commonly called flour worms.
UQ researchers have discovered that supercooks (pictured) can eat polystyrene foam, giving clues about an innovative solution to plastic waste.
Flour worms and supercooks are widely used in the pet food industry, and in some parts of the world they are also eaten by humans.
But scientists at the University of Queensland have discovered what supercooks themselves can eat, which is really interesting.
Dr. Chris Rinke and his team at the UQ School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences said that it had been previously shown that worms in flour can eat polystyrene and not only did they seem to suffer from harmful effects but actually got plastic nutrients.
Rinke said they wanted to see if supercooks could also survive on a plastic diet and found out they did.
“The flour worms are quite small, about 1 to 2 centimeters, we wondered if the big superworms could also digest the plastic, and perhaps more efficiently,” he said.
While supercooks can eat plastic, that doesn’t mean they eat plastic, and they don’t eat plastic regularly in nature.
However, Rinke said that when all they have to eat is plastic, they will mate without any apparent harmful effects.