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Glite Dictionary
🐛 An edible insect 🌳 A tree
mopane

mopane

1 9.9
An edible caterpillar that people in southern Africa collect and eat
  • noun
  • South African
translation icon : gusano mopane
  • 36 Mopanie (sic) worms that feed on Colophospermum mopane are reported to be "exported to Zambia by the tons" from Zimbabwe.
  • mopane worms

Examples

  • We managed to eat our share of mopane worms and traditional food, too.

    Blog text (17)

  • "Mopane worms, I love them," he exclaims.

    Blog text (20)

  • My guide and I laugh and share our lives over a dinner whose buffet does not contain mopane worms, I'm happy to say.

    Blog text (20)

  • The really adventurous can try mopane worms or an African ale.

    Academic text (1999)

  • In southern Africa, people often enjoy mopane worms as a traditional dish rich in protein.

  • During the rainy season, many families gather to collect mopane worms for their nutritious value.

  • He introduced me to his favorite snack, crispy mopane worms, which are a popular delicacy in his culture.

Synonyms

mopani
vsmopane
  • South African
9.9

A caterpillar people eat as a traditional food in southern Africa

emphasizes a particular species widely eaten across the region

Surface Forms

mopane singular
mopanes plural

Etymology

Mopane is also used for an edible caterpillar because these larvae live on and eat the leaves of the mopane 'tree'. People often call them 'mopane worms', so the name links the insect to the tree it depends on.