Review: Southern African Moths & Their Caterpillars by Staude, Picker & Griffiths

Rating: A nature-lover’s bookshelf essential 

What is it? Field guide 

Ideal for fans of: Field Guide To Spiders, Medicinal Plants of East Africa

What makes it special? Comprehensive guide to all life stages of the insects

Get it in South Africa from: Struik Nature (Penguin Random House South Africa) 

Have you ever found yourself trying to identify a caterpillar and failing? After all, it is surprisingly easy to mistake a moth caterpillar for that of a butterfly. Well, it used to be. 

With Southern African Moths & Their Caterpillars, you have access to 1500 moth species, making misidentification almost impossible. You see, not only does this guide provide clues to these insects’ geographical locations and preferred habitats, but it gives a comprehensive overview of the family, species, size. The best part? Every entry is accompanied by a series of glorious, high-definition colour images of all stages of the life cycle. 

In a nutshell, this means you can now identify a moth based on where you found it, the appearance of the pupa or caterpillar, or by looking at the adult moth itself. Genius, right? Staude, Picker & Griffiths have totally eliminated the guesswork in moth identification, and they have made it fun. Then again, that’s hardly surprising given the impressive list of qualifications and years of experience behind their names.

So how do you start your identification journey, especially if you know next to nothing about these winged and many-legged creatures? Easy. The entries are organised by family, with a brief description of the most noticeable shared features. So if you spot a moth that’s really small, with spiny legs and narrow yet long wings, you’d start with the Plume moths (family Pterophoridae). If you see a caterpillar with a horn-like protrusion on its rear, you’re likely looking at a hawkmoth. Interestingly, these little guys are huge fans of grape vines, so if you happen to see a fat, green, horned caterpillar wiggling about among your grapes (as I have in my garden), that’s your most likely culprit. 

Of course, Southern African Moths & Their Caterpillars is not just a way to identify moths. It provides additional information on moths in general, from their genetic evolution and their importance as pollinators to their unique means of protecting themselves as caterpillars and adults. In short, it’s the go-to compendium for anything to do with moths in Southern Africa. 

Southern African Moths & Their Caterpillars by Hermann Staude, Mike Picker & Charles Griffiths is published by Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa.