| Emporia melanobasis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pyralidae |
| Genus: | Emporia |
| Species: | E. melanobasis |
| Binomial name | |
| Emporia melanobasis Balinsky, 1991[1] |
|
Emporia melanobasis is a species of snout moths in the genus Emporia. It was described by Balinsky in 1991, and is known from South Africa.
The larvae pupate[2] inside fruit of Spirostachys africana. Larvae develop with the growing fruits which show no external damage. When the fruits are mature each splits into 3 cocci. The larvae jack-knife inside the fallen segments, causing them to move about erratically and vigorously, to the surprise of the uninitiated. This has led to the name "Jumping Bean Tree". A similar phenomenon occurs with the Mexican jumping bean, Sebastiania sp., which also belong to the Euphorbia family. This bean is parasitised by the moth Cydia deshaisiana.