The Speckled Emperor (Gynasia maja) is a spectacular large moth in the family Saturniidae. Its large, brightly coloured caterpillars are known to eat a wide range of plants, but I can find no record of them eating Mopane (Colophospermum mopane), a tree or shrub in the legume family with a wide distribution in the hotter, drier parts of Southern Africa. This contrasts with the diet of the related Mopane Worm (Gonimbrasia belina), for which Mopane is its major food source. Mopane Worms provide an important source of nutrition, particularly protein, for many people in the region. In December 2007 we discovered that large areas of Mopane on the Letaba- Phalaborwa Road in Kruger National Park had been defoliated by Speckled Emperor caterpillars.