Emporia melanobasis

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 three 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 saltitans.