Plastic-eating insect discovered in Kenya

Phys.org  November 11, 2024 Researchers in Kenya evaluated the ability of the mealworm to consume Polystyrene (PS) its associated gut microbiota diversity. During the PS feeding trials intake increased over a 30-day period and the overall survival rates of the larvae decreased when fed a sole PS diet. The predominant bacteria observed in larvae fed PS diets were Kluyvera, Lactococcus, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, and Enterococcus, while Stenotrophomonas dominated the control diet. According to the researchers their findings demonstrated that the newly identified lesser mealworm could survive on a PS diet and has a consortium of important bacteria strongly associated with PS […]