But those contained in the saliva of the wax worm moth – Galleria mellonella – can act in only a few hours, the research showed (see graphic). Researcher Federica Bertocchini is an avid beekeeper.

It began when biochemist [Federica Bertocchini] cleaned a wax moth infestation from her beehive ... wasn’t just mechanical and that the worms were digesting the polyethylene, to the tune ...

The researchers are using saliva from the larvae of the greater wax moth, commonly known as wax worms. These creatures are a well known pest that attacks and destroys honeybee hives. They are also ...

A chance discovery made by a scientist and amateur beekeeper has led to a potentially game-changing discovery in the biodegrading of polyethylene, a plastic used in shopping bags which clog up ...

Federica Bertocchini at the Margarita Salas Center for Biological Research and her colleagues have isolated unique, plastic-eating enzymes from the saliva of wax worms. These biological agents ...