| Mopane worms (Imbrasia belina) are a staple part of the diet in Southern Africa and are harvested twice a year and sold in the local markets.
The mopane worm is the brightly coloured caterpillar of the Emperor Moth, which is one of the world’s largest moths.
The caterpillar lives primarily on the leaves of the mopane tree (Colophospermum mopane) – hence its name.
The worms are hand-picked or shaken off the trees.
Their protein content is three times that of beef and it takes only 3kg of leaves to produce 1kg of worms whereas 1kg of beef requires 10kg of feed to produce. Analysis has shown that the worms contain 60.70% crude protein, 16.70% crude fat, and 10.72% minerals, on a dry matter basis.
Our mopane worms are traditionally cooked in a stew containing tomatoes and onions and are sold in a can - ready to serve!
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