Gonimbrasia belina is a species of emperor moth which is native to the warmer parts of southern Africa. Its large edible caterpillar, known as the mopane worm, madora, amacimbi “pigeon moth” or masontja, feeds primarily but not exclusively on mopane tree leaves. Mopane worms are an important source of protein for many in the region. The species was first described by John O. Westwood in 1849.
The mopane worm is so-called in English because it is usually found on the mopane tree, Colophospermum mopane. Other vernacular names for the caterpillars include:
The Latin name is sometimes given as Imbrasia belina, rather than Gonimbrasia belina.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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starts withThe moths are large with a wingspan of 120 mm. Wings are fawn coloured through shades of green and brown to red, with two black and white bands isolating the eyespots. An orange eyespot is present on each hindwing. Males moths have feathery antennae, which are used to find a mate. Larvae are black, peppered with round scales in indistinct alternating whitish green and yellow bands, and armed with short black or reddish spines covered in fine white hairs.
Widespread. Very common in semi-desert, bushveld and grassland.
Larvae eat a wide range of plants including mopane, Carissa grandiflora, Diospyros, Ficus, Rhus, Sclerocarya caffra, Terminalia and Trema. Mopane worm outbreaks defoliate shrubs, depriving game of browse.
Although the mopane worm feeds chiefly on the mopane tree, it is not limited to this diet, and can feed on many other trees that are indigenous to the same regions, as well as exotics like the leaves of the mango tree. Thus the mopane worm is scattered over a fairly large area. As the larval stage of the mopane worm is fairly short, in contrast to other browsing caterpillars, the extensive damage to foliage is easily survived by the tree, in time to be replenished for the next generation of mopane worms. Like most caterpillars, the mopane worm is a voracious eater, and will continue to eat - almost non-stop - until it reaches the next stage of its life cycle, when it burrows underground to undergo metamorphosis.
Like most caterpillars, the mopane worm's life cycle starts when it hatches in the summer, after which it proceeds to eat the foliage in its immediate vicinity. As the larva grows, it moults four times in its five larval stages, after which the mopane worm is considered most desirable for harvesting. Provided that the larva has not been harvested after its fourth moult, it burrows underground to pupate, the stage at which it undergoes complete transformation to become the adult moth. This stage happens over winter, for a duration of 6 to 7 months, whereafter it emerges at the beginning of summer (November or December).
The adult moths live only for three to four days, during which time they mate and lay their eggs.
Mopane worms are hand picked in the wild, often by women and children. In the bush, the caterpillars are not considered to belong to the landowner (if any), but around a house, permission should be sought from the resident. Chavanduka describes women in Zimbabwe tying a piece of bark to particular trees to establish ownership, or moving the young caterpillars to trees nearer home. When the caterpillar has been picked, it is pinched at the tail end to rupture the innards. The picker then squeezes it like a tube of toothpaste or lengthwise like a concertina, and whips it to expel the slimy, green contents of the gut. The harvesting and sale of mopane worms is a multi-million rand industry in southern Africa. The principal producers are Botswana, Namibia, South Africa (Limpopo Province and Mpumalanga) and Zimbabwe. Typically, the caterpillars are not bred, but picked wherever they occur naturally. It is one of the region's most economically important insects. In the 1990s, hundreds of tons were exported from Botswana and South Africa each year.[11] It is estimated that South Africa alone trades 1.6 million kilogrammes of mopane worm annually, and that Botswana's involvement in this industry nets it roughly $8 million annually. Mopane worms are considered to be a profitable harvest, as a mere three kilograms of feed (mopane leaves) will generally yield one kilogram of mopane worms: in contrast, cattle farming requires ten kilograms of feed to generate one kilogram of beef; thus the worms are a low-cost, low-maintenance, high-protein food source.
