wax moth
noun
: a dull brownish or ashen pyralid moth (Galleria mellonella) with a larva that feeds on the honeycomb wax of bees
Examples of wax moth in a Sentence
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LeMoine and his Brandon University team focused on one of these insects: caterpillar larvae of the greater wax moth.
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Eric Betz, Discover Magazine, 4 Mar. 2020
Wax worms—the caterpillar larval stage of the wax moth—might revolutionize our response to plastic waste, suggests research published in Nature Communications in October.
—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Dec. 2022
To see whether male jays understood that females felt this way too, the researchers fed female jays either wax moth or mealworm larvae while their male partners watched from the other side of a screen.
—Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 12 Feb. 2013
Now, Bertocchini and her colleagues say that the caterpillar of a common insect, the wax moth, Galleria mellonella, can devour polyethylene and generate an industrially useful molecule.
—Charles Choi, Discover Magazine, 24 Apr. 2017
One of these, the greater wax moth, is offering scientists hope in the fight against plastic pollution.
—Eric Betz, Discover Magazine, 4 Mar. 2020
To understand the extent to which plastic can be colonized by potentially deadly bacteria, the scientists injected wax moth larvae with the biofilm.
—Michael Allen, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Aug. 2022
Other scientific efforts to find biological ways to break down major plastic are underway, including using wax moth larvae to break down polyethylene.
—Nusmila Lohani, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 May 2020
Waxworms, which are the larvae of wax moths, and spikes or eurolarvae, which are blue bottlefly maggots, are the most popular live baits for hardwater bluegills.
—Outdoor Life, 27 Jan. 2020
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Eric Betz, Discover Magazine, 4 Mar. 2020
Wax worms—the caterpillar larval stage of the wax moth—might revolutionize our response to plastic waste, suggests research published in Nature Communications in October.
—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Dec. 2022
To see whether male jays understood that females felt this way too, the researchers fed female jays either wax moth or mealworm larvae while their male partners watched from the other side of a screen.
—Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 12 Feb. 2013
Now, Bertocchini and her colleagues say that the caterpillar of a common insect, the wax moth, Galleria mellonella, can devour polyethylene and generate an industrially useful molecule.
—Charles Choi, Discover Magazine, 24 Apr. 2017
One of these, the greater wax moth, is offering scientists hope in the fight against plastic pollution.
—Eric Betz, Discover Magazine, 4 Mar. 2020
To understand the extent to which plastic can be colonized by potentially deadly bacteria, the scientists injected wax moth larvae with the biofilm.
—Michael Allen, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Aug. 2022
Other scientific efforts to find biological ways to break down major plastic are underway, including using wax moth larvae to break down polyethylene.
—Nusmila Lohani, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 May 2020
Waxworms, which are the larvae of wax moths, and spikes or eurolarvae, which are blue bottlefly maggots, are the most popular live baits for hardwater bluegills.
—Outdoor Life, 27 Jan. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Wax moth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wax%20moth. Accessed 28 Feb. 2025.
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