"Moreover, the caterpillars were not only eating the incredibly resistant plastic, they were chemically transforming the polyethylene into ethylene glycol (an inexpensive and miscible solvent with a low freezing point and high boiling point, and a structure similar to water). "
I did, I didn't digest that part.
"Moreover, the caterpillars were not only eating the incredibly resistant plastic, they were chemically transforming the polyethylene into ethylene glycol (an inexpensive and miscible solvent with a low freezing point and high boiling point, and a structure similar to water). "
This should help https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268154348_Evidence_of_Polyethylene_Biodegradation_by_Bacterial_Strains_from_the_Guts_of_Plastic-Eating_Waxworms