UBC researchers fed mealworms ground-up face masks mixed with bran and found that the bugs excreted a small fraction of the microplastics consumed.
UBC researchers fed mealworms ground-up face masks mixed with bran and found that the bugs excreted a small fraction of the microplastics consumed.
Plastic pollution occurs in every ecosystem on the planet and lingers for decades. Could insects be part of the solution?
Previous research found that insects can ingest and absorb pure, unrefined microplastics—but only under unrealistic, food-scarce situations. In a new Biology Letters paper, UBC zoologist Dr. Michelle Tseng and alumna Shim Gicole tested mealworms in a more realistic scenario, feeding them ground-up face masks—a common plastic product—mixed with bran, a tastier option.
Read more at University of British Columbia
Image: Mealworms feast on bran and microplastics in the lab. (Credit: Michelle Tseng)
