Wax Moth

• GeneralIts larvae can break down polyethylene plastic, which is being investigated as a way to tackle pollution.
• It has become a widely used laboratory model for studying infections and testing antibiotics, because its innate immune response resembles that of vertebrates and allows the use of mice to be reduced.
• The adults do not feed; the whole eating stage falls to the larva.
• The larva eats beeswax, pollen and bee bread, and ruins whole combs: the damage in apiaries is known as wax moth damage.
• In 2017 it was discovered to break down polyethylene, a plastic that hardly biodegrades at all. The explanation lies in its diet: beeswax has the same hydrocarbon bonds as polyethylene.
• The larvae bore through plastic film at about two holes per caterpillar per hour, and the bacteria and fungi in their gut take part in the breakdown.
• It is one of the most widely used animal models in infection research today: it can be kept at 37 °C, it is susceptible to human pathogens, and its melanisation response serves as a visual indicator of health.
• In 2024, techniques were developed for generating transgenic lines and CRISPR-Cas9 edits, which greatly widens its usefulness as a cheap model free of the ethical objections attached to vertebrates.

Habitat & environment

Honeybee hives

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleria_mellonella