Mopane Worm
Gonimbrasia belina · Insect
The mopane worm is the big caterpillar of an emperor moth of the bushveld, grassland and semi-desert of southern Africa, feeding on mopane leaves. Women and children pick it by hand, squeeze out the gut, boil it with plenty of salt and dry it in the sun or smoke it; it is eaten as a crunchy snack or soaked and cooked with onion and tomato. A protein for millions of people, it is a trade worth millions: South Africa alone trades 1.6 million kg a year. It spends the winter months as a pupa underground.
- Danger
- Harmless
- How it is met
- In swarms, by day
- Size
- Tiny
- In winter
- Torpid in the cold
Where it lives
Feeds on
Mopane
Gives
Sources
- Gonimbrasia belina. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2026.
- Gonimbrasia belina. Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre, 2026.
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