During its caterpillar stage, the leopard magpie moth feeds on a plant called the Natal grass cycad and by so doing laces its body with macrozamin, a toxin that makes the moth highly unpalatable to would-be predators
Since the Natal grass cycad is now endangered and facing extinction, the leopard magpie moth is also in danger of extinction
Feeding on the Natal grass cycad is the only means by which the leopard magpie moth can make itself highly unpalatable to predators.