Imbrasia belina (Westwood, 1849)

Mopane caterpillar or mopane worm or emperor moth, Imbrasia belina (Westwood,1849) (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) is distributed throughout the southern regions of Africa. The primary name for the immature of this species is the Mopane caterpillar due to their feeding on the leaves of the mopane tree. The caterpillars are high in protein (48.3%) similar to soybean (Glew et al., 1999) and are considered an important source of food for many people throughout this region of Africa. The adults, known as the emperor moth, are quite large with conspicuous eyespots on the hind wings.