Want to know more about our caterpillars? Here are 5 interesting facts!

1. The scientific name of our caterpillars is Cirina butyrospermi (C.b.). ‘Butyrospermi’ means ‘butter seed’, referring to the only food plant of the caterpillar - the shea tree. The nuts of this tree are used to make shea butter, which is used in cosmetics, confection, and as a cooking oil.

This photo shows a woman making shea butter by hand:

 

2. In their adult form, C.b. caterpillars are moths. The moths live for only few days - just enough time to mate, and for the female to lay eggs. She lays her eggs on the bark of the shea tree, so that when they hatch they are right next to their food source.

This photo shows the moths, male and female, that are the adult form of our caterpillars:

 

3. The caterpillars are really varied in colour - some are yellow, some are blue, some are white, and some are a combination of these colours!

This photo shows a few of our multicoloured caterpillars:

 

4. When they’re ready to pupate, the caterpillars burrow underground. They stay underground for 9 months of the year, until the arrival of the annual rains prompts them to emerge.

This photo shows a caterpillar burrowing underground to pupate:

 

5. The caterpillars are impossible to distinguish from another closely related species called Cirina forda. The only differences are: Adult C.forda have spots on their wings, and C.forda caterpillars eat the leaves of other trees.

This map shows the distribution of countries where either Cirina forda or Cirina butyrospermi caterpillars are used as food. As you can see, they range right across Africa!

 

I hope you enjoyed reading this lab note!

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