--- title: "Bugs Fed Microplastics Grow to Ludicrous Size" description: "Scientists discovered that crickets that were fed microplastics grew in size by a staggering 25 times over a seven-week period." date: "2025-12-13" modified: "2025-12-13" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/science-energy/crickets-microplastics-grow-size" categories: - "Biology" - "Environment" - "Pollution" - "Science & Energy" --- # Bugs Fed Microplastics Grow to Ludicrous Size ![Scientists discovered that crickets that were fed microplastics grew in size by a staggering 25 times over a seven-week period.]() *Getty / Futurism* Microplastics have infiltrated both our bodies — where they're found in our [organs](), [bodily fluids](), and even [brains]() — and every corner of the Earth, from [deep inside sealed caves]() to the [depths of the Mariana Trench](). Now, an alarming new data point: asdoctors urgently investigate the [effects]() of all that foreign material in our bodies, scientists are finding that they're already wreaking havoc on much smaller organisms. As detailed in a [study]() published in the journal *Environmental Science & Technology*, scientists from Carleton University in Ottawa and Canada's National Wildlife Research Center discovered that crickets that were fed microplastics-contaminated food grew in size by a staggering 25 times over a seven-week period. That's despite also being given the option of eating natural food instead — which showed that the crickets were initially unable to distinguish between plastic and real food,then became drawn to the plastic-contaminated stuff. "When given a choice between uncontaminated and plastic-contaminated food, crickets first had no preference for uncontaminated food but then significantly shifted towards the plastic-contaminated food after nine days," the paper reads. The larger they grew, the larger their mouths swelled as well. As a result, the crickets became more likely to consume larger plastic particles, as crickets won't feed on anything that's larger than their mouths. "Once a particle was big enough to be eaten, crickets continued to eat it for the rest of their life," said coauthor and Carleton PhD candidate Marshall Ritche in a [statement](). And it only gets worse from there. The researchers found that the crickets broke down the microplastics into nanoplastics during digestion, turning the stuff into an even greater — and harder-to-track — threat to the environment. Related research has shown that consuming microplastics is also negatively affecting other critters, like [marine snails]() and [earthworms](). Even the midge larvae of small flies that are native to Antarctica, some of the most remote regions on Earth, are ingesting the stuff. "Antarctica still has much lower plastic levels than most of the planet, and that’s good news," said University of Kentucky entomologist Jack Devlin, who coauthored a [study]() published in the journal *Science of the Total Environment*, in a [recent statement](). "But we can now say they are getting into the system, and at high enough levels they start to change the insect’s energy balance." Fortunately, "even at the highest plastic concentrations, survival didn’t drop," he said. "Their basic metabolism didn’t change either. On the surface, they seemed to be doing fine." However, the fact that even tiny bugs in Antarctica are tainted with microplastics doesn't bode well. "This started because I watched a documentary and thought, ‘Surely Antarctica is one of the last places not dealing with this,'" Devlin recalled. "Then you go there, you work with this incredible little insect that lives where there are no trees, barely any plants, and you still find plastic in its gut." "That really brings home how widespread the problem is," he added. **More on microplastics:** [*Doctors Find Evidence That Microplastics Are Degrading Your Bones*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()