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 masonja, 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 scientifically described by John O. Westwood in 1849.
Vernacular names 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:
Botswana Kalanga: mashonja Tswana: phane South Africa Sotho: masonja Northern Sotho: mašotša (colloq) Venda: mashonzha Tsonga: matamani or masonja Southern Ndebele: iinnondo Tswana: masonja, seboko sa mongana Zambia muyaya (believed to be the mopane worm) finkubala ifishimu (proper name in the Bemba language) Zimbabwe Northern Ndebele: macimbi Shona: madora, masodya or mashonja Kalanga: mahonja Namibia Ovambo: omagungu Oshikwanyama: oshuungu Democratic Republic of the Congo Kongo: mingolo The Latin name is sometimes given as Imbrasia belina, rather than Gonimbrasia belina.
Identification The 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.
Biology Larvae eat a wide range of plants including mopane, Carissa grandiflora, Diospyros, Ficus, Rhus, Sclerocarya afra, Terminalia and Trema. After hatching, mopane worm leave host plants without leaves, depriving browsing species of food sources.
Habitat Widespread. Very common in semi-desert, bushveld and grassland.
Life cycle 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.
Predators The mopane moths and their eggs often fall prey to various predators as well as disease. Often, more than 40% of a mopane worm's eggs will be attacked by various predators and the caterpillars themselves are susceptible to infection from a virus that has a high mortality rate. The main predators are various birds and humans, which rely on the caterpillars for sustenance.
Diet 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.
As food 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.
Preserving The traditional method of preserving mopane worms is to boil them without adding any extra water after washing and adding a significant amount of salt. They are then dried in the sun or smoked, whereby they gain extra flavour. The industrial method is to can the caterpillars (usually in brine). Tins of mopane worms can be found in rural supermarkets and markets around southern Africa.
Eating
Dried mopane worms can be eaten raw as a crisp snack. In Botswana people tend not to eat the head. Alternatively, mopane worms can be soaked to rehydrate, before being fried until they are crunchy, or cooked with onion, tomatoes and spices and then served with pap or sadza. The flesh is yellow, and the gut may still contain fragments of dried leaf, which is not harmful to humans. The taste of dried leaves, if not removed, is somewhat reminiscent of tea leaves. Dried mopane worms are frequently canned/packaged in tomato sauce or chili sauce to enhance the flavour. In November 2015, a Cornell team of food scientists placed third in Brisbane, Australia, at the 2015 Global Business Challenge, by presenting the economic and nutritional benefits of transforming proteins from mopane worms into food.
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