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Plastic-Eating Worms Reading Answers

Bhaskar Das

Sep 26, 2025

Plastic-Eating Worms Reading Answers contains 13 questions and belongs to the assessment system of the IELTS General Reading test. Plastic-Eating Worms Reading Answers must be answered within 20 minutes. In this IELTS reading section, question types include: Write the correct letter and Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer. Plastic-Eating Worms Reading Answers offers a comprehensive overview of Wax worms’ surprising ability to break down plastic, which could lead to a revolutionary solution for global plastic waste, offering hope alongside recycling efforts and environmental initiatives. To practice similar reading tests, candidates can refer to the IELTS Reading Practice Test section.

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Plastic-Eating Worms Reading Answers

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When amateur beekeeper Federica Bertocchini put some wax worms in a plastic bag, she never imagined that she was about to discover something that could potentially save the planet. Professor Bertocchini had been trying to cope with one of the problems facing beekeepers. She had an infestation of wax worms on her honeycombs. Wax worms are in fact the caterpillars of wax moths and they are a parasite to bee colonies. Once they get inside a beehive, the moths lay their eggs. Then, when these hatch, the wax worms feed on the cocoons, pollen and beeswax. As they chew through the honeycomb, they can contaminate and spoil the honey. The damage they do can also be a serious problem for the bee larvae and some may die because of it.

Faced with this problem, Professor Bertocchini had put the wax moths that had infested her beehive in a supermarket plastic bag thinking that it would contain them. However, when she saw the plastic bag again, she noticed that it was covered in holes where the wax worms seemed to be literally eating their way through the plastic.

Fortunately, Professor Bertocchini works as an evolutionary biologist at the Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria (CSIC), Spain. As soon as she saw the holes in the plastic bag, she knew she had discovered something very exciting. She was also well placed to investigate. To test this further, Professor Bertocchini carried out an experiment with Paolo Bombelli and Christopher Howe from Cambridge University. For the experiment, the scientists selected approximately 100 wax worms and introduced them to a selection of own-brand supermarket plastic bags. They then watched and recorded what happened. After just 40 minutes, holes had started to appear in the plastic bags and in 12 hours, the worms had made a considerable reduction in the amount of plastic.

What was exciting for Professor Bombelli was the fact that he could already imagine the potential impact the findings might have on waste management. And rather than relying on the appetite of wax worms to eat through plastic, he realised that the next job was to analyse the enzymes* that were breaking down the plastic. If the reduction in plastic were due to a single enzyme, it is likely that this enzyme could be produced using biotechnology. It could then be used as a weapon to tackle the world’s ever-increasing mountain of plastic waste. Much of this plastic waste ends up in our water systems. Figures suggest that a minimum of 5–13 million tonnes of plastic finds its way into our oceans every year and experts have warned that, by as early as 2050, there could be more plastic than wildlife in our oceans.

One significant location of plastic waste is The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is the name given to a place in the Pacific Ocean where a huge amount of plastic has collected. The patch stretches between the western coast of North America to Japan. The garbage patch is contained within the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre – a gyre being a circular system of sea currents brought about by wind patterns and the Earth’s rotation. Environmentalists are understandably concerned about the amount of plastic in the oceans and the effect it has on wildlife. ‘Fish and seabirds are more and more cases of wildlife being affected by rubbish,’ she says. ‘Recently a whale was found off the coast of Norway which had more than 30 pieces of plastic in its stomach. It was malnourished due to the fact that it had so much plastic inside.’

Around the world, there have been government efforts to reduce the amount of plastic waste. There are recycling initiatives in place, but although many waste management companies collect plastics, they are notoriously difficult to recycle. Plastic doesn’t biodegrade, so one of the only ways to deal with many plastics up until now has been to burn them, which releases toxic fumes and CO₂ into the atmosphere. Some companies are working on producing biodegradable alternatives but the amount that are used. There are also increasing efforts to cut down the use of plastic bags by levying charges. Both these approaches have had an effect on the number of plastic bags used, but there is still a great deal of plastic packaging in use across the world.

Countries that are big consumers of plastic, such as China, Indonesia and the Philippines, recently made a promise at a UN ocean summit to keep plastics out of the sea. Environmentalist Robert Wang sees this as a step in the right direction. ‘It’s a good start, however, with such a big problem to solve, the discovery of the wax worms’ appetite for plastic is very exciting. In addition to our efforts to try to stop the problem at source, this could be nature’s way of cleaning up the planet.’

Questions 14-18

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

HOW WAX WORMS AFFECT BEEHIVES

The 14……………. enter the beehive and lay their eggs on the honeycombs.

Answer: wax moths

Supporting statement: "Wax worms are in fact the caterpillars of wax moths and they are a parasite to bee colonies. Once they get inside a beehive, the moths lay their eggs."

Keywords: wax moths, beehive, eggs

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, lines 2–4

Explanation: The text explains that wax moths enter the beehive and lay eggs, which later hatch into wax worms. This identifies wax moths as the starting point of infestation.

The eggs 15…………..., producing wax worms.

Answer: hatch

Supporting statement: "Then, when these hatch, the wax worms feed on the cocoons, pollen and beeswax."

Keywords: hatch, wax worms

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 5

Explanation: The eggs laid by wax moths hatch into wax worms, showing the next stage in the infestation process.

In the hive, the wax worms eat beeswax, cocoons and 16………………..

Answer: pollen

Supporting statement: "… the wax worms feed on the cocoons, pollen and beeswax."

Keywords: feed, cocoons, pollen, beeswax

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, lines 5–6

Explanation: Wax worms consume several items within the hive, including pollen, which affects bee nutrition and hive integrity.

The worms may cause honey to 17............ from the honeycomb.

Answer: become contaminated

Supporting statement: "As they chew through the honeycomb, they can contaminate and spoil the honey."

Keywords: contaminate, spoil, honey

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, line 6–7

Explanation: Worms’ activity inside the hive causes honey contamination, reducing its quality and safety.

In addition, damage to the honeycomb may mean that some of the bee larvae 18…………….

Answer: die

Supporting statement: "The damage they do can also be a serious problem for the bee larvae and some may die because of it."

Keywords: larvae, damage, die

Keyword Location: Paragraph 1, lines 7–8

Explanation: Larvae suffer from hive destruction caused by worms, sometimes leading to death, which impacts the bee population.

Questions 19-20

Look at the following statements (Questions 19-20) and the list of people.

Match each statement with the correct person.

Write the correct letter A - E.

19. He/she wanted to find out which chemical substance was being used in a process.

Answer: B. Professor Bombelli

Supporting statement: "Rather than relying on the appetite of wax worms … the next job was to analyse the enzymes that were breaking down the plastic."

Keywords: analyse, enzymes, breaking down plastic

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, lines 2–5

Explanation: Bombelli focused on identifying the chemical (enzyme) involved in plastic degradation, showing his scientific approach to the discovery.

20. He/she suggests that the wax worm discovery can be used in combination with current waste management strategies.

Answer: E. Robert Wang

Supporting statement: "… this could be nature’s way of cleaning up the planet. In addition to our efforts to try to stop the problem at source…"

Keywords: nature’s way, cleaning up, efforts, stop at source

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, lines 7–9

Explanation: Robert Wang highlighted how wax worm findings can complement existing waste management strategies, combining both approaches.

LIST OF PEOPLE

A. Professor Bertocchini

B. Professor Bombelli

C. Christopher Howe

D. Sarah Willis

E. Robert Wang

Questions 21-22

Look at the following statements (Questions 21-22) and the list of people.

Match each statement with the correct person.

Write the correct letter A - E.

21. He/she gives a specific example of plastic waste's negative effect on nature.

Answer: D. Sarah Willis

Supporting statement: "Recently a whale was found off the coast of Norway which had more than 30 pieces of plastic in its stomach. It was malnourished…"

Keywords: whale, stomach, 30 pieces of plastic, malnourished

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, lines 5–7

Explanation: Sarah Willis gave an example of wildlife suffering from plastic waste, linking pollution directly to negative biological effects.

22. He/she made a discovery by accident.

Answer: A. Professor Bertocchini

Supporting statement: "Faced with this problem, Professor Bertocchini had put the wax moths … in a supermarket plastic bag … she noticed that it was covered in holes."

Keywords: plastic bag, holes, discovery, wax worms

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 1–5

Explanation: Bertocchini discovered the worms’ ability to eat plastic by accident when she left them in a bag, making her role central to the finding.

LIST OF PEOPLE

A. Professor Bertocchini

B. Professor Bombelli

C. Christopher Howe

D. Sarah Willis

E. Robert Wang

Questions 23-26

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

23. In the experiment, how long was it before the researchers could see holes in the bags?

Answer: 40 minutes

Supporting statement: "After just 40 minutes, holes had started to appear in the plastic bags…"

Keywords: 40 minutes, holes, plastic bags

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, line 6

Explanation: The experiment showed worms degraded plastic in only 40 minutes, providing a measurable timeframe for results.

24. What exactly was found in the stomach of a whale?

Answer: plastic pieces / 30 pieces of plastic

Supporting statement: "… a whale … had more than 30 pieces of plastic in its stomach."

Keywords: whale, stomach, 30 pieces, plastic

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, lines 5–6

Explanation: The whale’s death illustrates the direct danger of plastic ingestion by wildlife, showing the severity of the pollution crisis.

25. In addition to CO2, what does burning plastic produce?

Answer: toxic fumes

Supporting statement: "… one of the only ways … has been to burn them, which releases toxic fumes and CO₂ into the atmosphere."

Keywords: burning plastic, toxic fumes, CO₂

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, lines 2–4

Explanation: Burning plastics is harmful as it emits toxic fumes alongside CO₂, worsening environmental and health problems.

26. Which environment have several countries promised to protect against plastics?

Answer: sea

Supporting statement: "… promised at a UN ocean summit to keep plastics out of the sea."

Keywords: UN ocean summit, plastics, sea

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, lines 5–6

Explanation: Countries pledged to protect seas from plastics, highlighting global responsibility for ocean conservation.

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*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.

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