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''Gonimbrasia belina'' is a species of
emperor moth The Saturniinae or saturniines are a subfamily of the family Saturniidae. They are commonly known as emperor moths or wild silk moths. They are easily spotted by the eyespots on the upper surface of their wings. Some exhibit realistic eye-like m ...
which is native to the warmer parts of
southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
. Its large edible
caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...
, known as the mopane worm, madora, amacimbi or masontja, feeds primarily but not exclusively on
mopane tree ''Colophospermum mopane'', commonly called mopane, mopani, balsam tree, butterfly tree, or turpentine tree, is a tree in the legume family ( Fabaceae), that grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, in elevation, in the far northern parts of souther ...
leaves. Mopane worms are an important source of
protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...
for many in the region. The species was first described by
John O. Westwood John Obadiah Westwood (22 December 1805 – 2 January 1893) was an English entomologist and archaeologist also noted for his artistic talents. He published several illustrated works on insects and antiquities. He was among the first entomologist ...
in 1849.


Vernacular names

The mopane worm is so-called in English because it is usually found on the
mopane ''Colophospermum mopane'', commonly called mopane, mopani, balsam tree, butterfly tree, or turpentine tree, is a tree in the legume family (Fabaceae), that grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, in elevation, in the far northern parts of southern A ...
tree, ''Colophospermum mopane''. Other vernacular names for the caterpillars include: *
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
** Kalanga: ''mahonja'' ** tn, phane *
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
** nso, mašotša (colloq)On the trail of missing Mopane Worms
Retrieved 28 March 2006
** ve, mashonzha ** ts, matamani or ** nr, iinnondo *
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
** ''muyaya'' (believed to be the mopane worm)Silow, C.A. 1976. Edible and Other Insects of Mid-western Zambia. Studies in Ethno-entomology II. Occ. Pap. V. Inst.Allm. Jamforand. Etnogr., Uppsala, Sweden: Almqvist & Wiksell, pp. 64–69. (Quoted ch.17 DeFoliart 2003) **''finkubala'' **''ifishimu'' (proper name in the
Bemba Bemba may refer to: * Bemba language (Chibemba), a Bantu language spoken in Zambia * Bemba people (AbaBemba), an ethnic group of central Africa * Jean-Pierre Bemba, the former vice-President of the Democratic Republic of Congo * A Caribbean drum, ...
language) *
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
** nd, macimbi ** sn, madora, or ''mashonja'' ** Kalanga: ''mahonja'' *
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
**
Ovambo Ovambo may refer to: *Ovambo language *Ovambo people *Ovamboland Ovamboland, also referred to as Owamboland, was a Bantustan in South West Africa (present-day Namibia), intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland ...
: ''omagungu'' **
Oshikwanyama Kwanyama or Cuanhama is a national language of Angola and Namibia. It is a standardized dialect of the Ovambo language, and is mutually intelligible with Oshindonga, the other Ovambo dialect with a standard written form. The entire Christian Bib ...
: ''oshuungu'' *
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
** kg, mingolo The Latin name is sometimes given as ''Imbrasia belina'', rather than ''Gonimbrasia belina''.The Mopane Worm
Retrieved 28 March 2006.


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.
Larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...
e 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 caffra'', ''Terminalia'' and ''Trema''. Mopane worm outbreaks defoliate shrubs, depriving game of browse.


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 A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...
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
pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...
te, 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

Like many animals lower down on the food chain, the mopane worms 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 parasites, and the caterpillars themselves are susceptible to infection from a virus that has a high mortality rate. The worms' main predators are various birds and humans, which rely on the caterpillars for sustenance.


Diet

Although the mopane worm feeds chiefly on the
mopane ''Colophospermum mopane'', commonly called mopane, mopani, balsam tree, butterfly tree, or turpentine tree, is a tree in the legume family (Fabaceae), that grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, in elevation, in the far northern parts of southern A ...
tree, it is not limited to this diet, and can feed on many other trees that are indigenous to the same regions, including the leaves of the
mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...
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 Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
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; however, in
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
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 An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...
, tomatoes and
spices A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are ...
and then served with pap or
sadza Ugali or Posho or sima (for others, see ) is a type of maize meal made from maize or corn flour in several countries in Africa. Sima is sometimes made from other flours, such as millet or sorghum flour, and is sometimes mixed with cassava flour. ...
. 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 Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
team of food scientists placed third in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
, Australia, at the 2015 Global Business Challenge, by presenting the economic and nutritional benefits of transforming proteins from mopane worms into food.


Farming and economics

The harvesting and sale of mopane worms is a multi-million
rand The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is finan ...
industry in southern Africa. The principal producers are
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
,
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
(
Limpopo Province Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature ...
and
Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. ...
) and
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
. 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. It is estimated that South Africa alone trades 1.6 million kilogrammes of mopane worm annually,Worming your way to a sustainable harvest
''Spore Brief Iss. 108''
and that Botswana's involvement in this industry nets it roughly $8 million annually.Effects of Elevated Ultraviolet-B Radiation on Native and Cultivated Plants of Southern Africa
/ref> 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.


Harvesting

Traditionally, mopane worms were harvested for
subsistence A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing, shelter) rather than to the market. Henceforth, "subsistence" is understood as supporting oneself at a minimum level. Often, the subsistence econo ...
. Because of the seasonal nature of the occurrence of these edible caterpillars, they are not a year-round food source. However, traditional mopane worm harvesting is evolving to be more commercially driven. Since the 1950s, commercial farming methods have been applied to the mopane worm harvests, particularly in South Africa. Collectors may organise teams of hundreds of people to hand pick the caterpillars from the trees, after which they are bagged ''en masse'', weighed, and sent off to be processed. Owners of land where mopane worms are found may charge harvesters large fees to enter. Whereas this relationship profits both the commercial harvester and the farmer, it is often to the detriment of the local community for whom the caterpillars may previously have been an important source of food and seasonal income.


Sustainability

As mopane worms represent an important sector in the local rural economy, they attract large numbers of people who seek to cash in on the profits from selling the insects as food. This circumstance leads to
overharvesting Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term ap ...
, and fewer mopane worms the following year. In some areas, farmers and communities have taken steps to reach a balance, so that each year may yield maximum returns without compromising the following year's harvest.


Fears of competition

A sure sign of the presence of mopane worms is defoliation of mopane woodland - sometimes around ninety per cent of leaves. Fenced-in browsing animals may rely on the mopane, and on other trees favoured by the caterpillars, as an important part of their diet. Some farmers therefore view the mopane worm as competition for their livestock, and attempt to eradicate the "pest" with
insecticide Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed t ...
s and the like. However, the caterpillar season is short, and the trees sprout the new, tender foliage which browsers prefer, so this problem can be managed in other ways, for example, by working to mutual benefit with the local caterpillar harvesters who will control the worms by harvesting them.


Recolonisation

Some areas once rich in mopane worms are now barren due to over harvesting and lack of a proper sustainable approach to commercial mopane worm farming. A good case is in Nkayi District, Zimbabwe, where most mopane woodland areas once produced a high population of these worms; but the harvests have decreased drastically. Suggestions of how to reintroduce the worms to these areas include re-colonisation. As the adult moth lives only three to four days, during which it must mate and lay eggs, there is only a small window of opportunity to relocate them. If this stage was to be successfully completed, collaboration with local farmers and communities would be required to ensure that the caterpillars are not harvested for a set number of years. It would thus be ensured that the area is adequately repopulated, so that a sustainable harvest is created for the future.


Domestication

Those in the business have considered domesticating the mopane worms in a manner that is similar to the domestication of
silkworm The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically ...
s. The industry would thus be less susceptible to the pitfalls that are associated with it, such as climate change, drought and other factors that could compromise a harvest. For a domesticated industry to succeed on a small scale and be accessible to the poorest of the poor, the cost of production would have to be comparable with the cost of wild worms or dried worms at the market.


Processing

A Mopani Processing centre has been built in Dzumeri, some 34 kilometres from Giyani. The centre was funded by the Council of Scientific and industrial Research (CSIR). In full operation, the Centre should be able to produce large quantities of a variety of mopani snacks and mopani polony.


References


Further reading


Food Insects
Site includes ''The Food Insects Newsletter'' * DeFoliart, Gene. ''The Human Use of Insects as a Food Resource: A Bibliographic Account in Progress''. * Hannaway, Francis. (2017






External links



Photographs of a mopane worm outbreak {{Authority control Saturniinae Moths of Africa Moths described in 1849 Edible insects Botswana cuisine Namibian cuisine South African cuisine Zimbabwean cuisine Insects in culture Taxa named by John O. Westwood