As with many scientific discoveries, learning about the useful and unexpected eating habits of the larval stage of the Greater Wax Moth Galleria mellonella can be chalked up to serendipity.

These fascinating beings, like bats and dolphins, employ echolocation to navigate their environments, while the greater wax moth showcases an astonishing auditory range. This diversity in the ...

But those contained in the saliva of the wax worm moth – Galleria mellonella – can act in only a few hours, the research showed (see graphic). Researcher Federica Bertocchini is an avid beekeeper.