A moth caterpillar commonly bred to provide fish bait feasts on a resistant plastic, scientists reported, raising hopes the creature can help manage the global problem of plastic-bag pollution.
一種通常飼養來供應魚餌的蛾幼蟲，可對耐分解的塑膠大快朵頤，科學家報告指出，燃起該生物可能有助於控制全球塑膠袋污染問題的希望。
"This discovery could be an important tool for helping to get rid of the polyethylene plastic waste accumulated in landfill sites and oceans," said Cambridge University professor Paolo Bombelli, co-author of a study published in the journal Current Biology.
「對於協助擺脫累積於垃圾掩埋場與海洋的聚乙烯塑膠廢棄物，這項發現可能是重要的方法，」這份刊載於「當代生物學」期刊的研究報告共同作者、劍橋大學教授龐貝里說。
Polyethylene represents 40 percent of Europe’s demand for plastic products, mostly in the form of packaging and shopping bags. Taking many years to biodegrade, polyethylene objects constitute a serious hazard for the environment, especially for sea life, when they are not recycled. In the European Union, 38 percent of plastic is thrown out in landfills.
在歐洲所需的塑膠產品中，聚乙烯製品佔了40％，主要是製成包裝與購物袋的形式。由於必須耗費多年才能生物分解，因此當聚乙烯物品未被回收時，對環境，特別是對海洋生物，將構成嚴重傷害。在歐盟，38％的塑膠被丟到垃圾掩埋場處理。
The promising discovery centers on the wax worm － the name for the caterpillar larva of Galleria mellonella, or greater wax moth. In its pre-caterpillar form, the species is commercially raised as maggots to provide fish bait and aquarium food. The moth is also a scourge of apiculture, laying its eggs in the honeycomb of beehives.
這項前景看好的發現，焦點在於蠟蟲—大蠟蛾幼蟲的名稱。在其前毛蟲階段，該物種做為提供魚餌與水族箱食物的蛆，而被商業性飼養。這種蛾將蛋產在蜂窩的蜂巢內，因此也是養蜂業的禍害之一。
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