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. 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. The adult moths live only for three to four days, during which time they mate and lay their eggs. This stage happens over winter, for a duration of 6 to 7 months, whereafter it emerges at the beginning of summer (November or December). 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. As the larva grows, it moults four times in its five larval stages, after which the mopane worm is considered most desirable for harvesting. 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. The unfeathered antennae seen here indicates a female. The short-lived emperor moth is the final stage. 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. Males moths have feathery antennae, which are used to find a mate. An orange eyespot is present on each hindwing. Wings are fawn coloured through shades of green and brown to red, with two black and white bands isolating the eyespots. The moths are large with a wingspan of 120 mm. The Latin name is sometimes given as Imbrasia belina, rather than Gonimbrasia belina. ifishimu (proper name in the Bemba language).muyaya (believed to be the mopane worm).Other vernacular names for the caterpillars include: The mopane worm is so-called in English because it is usually found on the mopane tree, Colophospermum mopane. The species was first described by John O.
Mopane worms are an important source of protein for many in the region. Its large edible caterpillar, known as the mopane worm, madora, amacimbi or masontja, feeds primarily but not exclusively on mopane tree leaves. Gonimbrasia belina is a species of emperor moth which is native to the warmer parts of southern Africa.
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