Mopane emperor moth
The mopane emperor moth is a big moth from southern Africa with brown, green and red wings and an orange eye spot on each back wing. Its fat caterpillar is called the mopane worm. In many places people pick these caterpillars and eat them as a tasty snack.
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Fun facts
The caterpillar changes its skin four times before it digs into the ground to turn into a moth.
It sleeps underground for 6 to 7 months over the winter and comes out at the start of summer.
The grown-up moth lives only three or four days, just long enough to lay eggs.
Mopane worms are dried in the sun or smoked, and some are sold in tins with tomato sauce.
Male moths have feathery feelers that help them find a female.
Most asked questions about Mopane emperor moth
?Can you eat mopane worms?
Yes. In southern Africa many people eat them dried, fried or cooked with onions and tomatoes. They are full of protein.
?What does a mopane worm turn into?
It turns into the mopane emperor moth, a big moth with eye spots on its wings.
?How big is the mopane emperor moth?
Its wings are about 12 centimetres across.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Gonimbrasia belina
- Named by
- Westwood, 1849
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Saturniidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Saturniidae
- Lives on
- Africa
- Also known as
- Mopane worm
Where the facts come from
- Gonimbrasia belina (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by SAplants. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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