Also: Hermetia illucens, Tenebrio molitor, Styrofoam-eating mealworms
Insect larvae that eat organic waste or plastic foam. See also plastic-degrading organisms.
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Diener and colleagues found a feeding rate that balanced 41.8% organic material reduction with larval biomass production for black soldier fly waste conversion.
As reported in: Diener, Zurbrügg, Tockner (2009). Conversion of organic material by black soldier fly larvae: establishing optimal feeding rates. Waste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy. doi:10.1177/0734242X09103838
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Yang and colleagues showed mealworms degraded Styrofoam (polystyrene) in their gut within 24 hours and lived on it as sole diet for a month.
As reported in: Yang, Yang, Wu et al. (2015). Biodegradation and Mineralization of Polystyrene by Plastic-Eating Mealworms: Part 1. Chemical and Physical Characterization and Isotopic Tests. Environmental Science & Technology. doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b02661
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