attract large numbers of people who seek to cash in on the profits from selling the insects as food. This circumstance leads to overharvesting, and fewer mopane worms the following year. In some areas, farmers and communities have taken steps to reach a balance, so that each year may yield maximum returns without compromising the following year's harvest. Fears of competition A sure sign of the presence of mopane worms is defoliation of mopane woodland - sometimes around ninety per cent of leaves. Fenced-in browsing animals may rely on the mopane, and on other trees favoured by the caterpillars, as an important part of their diet. Some farmers therefore view the mopane worm as competition for their livestock, and attempt to eradicate the "pest" with insecticides and the like. However, the caterpillar season is short, and the trees sprout the new, tender foliage which browsers prefer, so this problem can be managed in other ways, for example, by working to mutual benefit with the local caterpillar harvesters who will control the worms by harvesting them. Recolonisation Some areas once rich in mopane worms are now barren due to over harvesting and lack of a proper sustainable approach to commercial mopane worm farming. A good case is in Nkayi District, Zimbabwe, where most mopane woodland areas once produced a high population of these worms; but the harvests have decreased drastically. Suggestions of how to reintroduce the worms to these areas include re-colonisation. As the adult moth lives only three to four days, during which it must mate and lay eggs, there is only a small window of opportunity to relocate them. If this stage was to be successfully completed, collaboration with local farmers and communities would be required to ensure that the caterpillars are not harvested for a set number of years. It would thus be ensured that the area is adequately repopulated, so that a sustainable harvest is created for the future. Domestication Those in the business have considered domesticating the mopane worms in a manner that is similar to the domestication of silkworms. The industry would thus be less susceptible to the pitfalls that are associated with it, such as climate change, drought and other factors that could compromise a harvest. For a domesticated industry to succeed on a small scale and be accessible to the poorest of the poor, the cost of production would have to be comparable