4.Herlina Menufandu
Indigenous knowledge about beetles by the Yali tribe

Dividing Coleoptera into families and groups is by various entomologists far from uniform. The Yali tribe has its own vision too and distinguishes two large groups: Hombolo and Boleag (beetles with horns, long antennae or large mandibles). Males of Lucanidae, Scarabidae, Cerambycidae, Curculionidae and Passalidae are included in Boleag, while females of Lucanidae and Scarabidae are included in Hombolo.
However, both groups only concern the eatable insects, so many beetles are not included.
The Yali people have also names for some families like “fulug” (Passalidae) and “fua” (Curculionidae), for genera like “bomboli” (Rhyncophorus sp.), or species like “singgabit” (Rhinoscapha richteri) and “gulangge jangge” (Behrensiellus glabratus).
The last one was very dominant during our visit and is often found at Pipperaceae and Verbenadeae. 
A total of 115 different species were collected from 33 families. The highest number of species was found of the family Curculionidae (43 species). 
Total results are presented in a training report of Herlina Menufandu (UNCEN, 2005).

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