SUGAPA digital

2.Euniche (Ika) Ramanday
Start Survey about diversity of beetles at Desa Maribu, Kabupaten Jayapura

In the environment of Jayapura about 38,670 ha Sago (Metroxylon spp.) is present, 24,670 Sago forest and the rest in plantations. Because of the decrease of Sago forest at Maribo, which is the Sago centre in the Sentani area, a survey was held on the Sago beetle at Maribo Tua, at 120 meter above sea level, one of the three villages of Maribo, where the Sago forest is still in a good condition.
As a result of six months surveying, 11 species beetles were found: 4 Curculionidae, 2 Lucanidae, 2 Histeridae, 2 Chrysomelidae and a single Hydrophylidae species. Only two species were identified: Rhyncophorus bilineatus and Dactylosternum dytiscoides.
Full results of this survey were presented by Euniche Ramanday in a final paper to graduate at Cenderawasih University (2005).

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3.Edy Rosariyanto
Pre-study of the phenomenon butterfly

Preparing research at butterflies.
People who like to do fieldwork need to prepare themselves. A good preparation is necessary because it may be the difference between success and failure. Some aspects during the preparation may be a part of the results that could be expected.

Specification of the target. Specify clearly what will be the target of your research.

Specification of the research location. It is necessary to find information on the location where you want to do your research. Find information about the geographical name, geographical location, the means to reach the area and what the expenses will be, etc.

Collect existing data of the area. It is important to have scientific data of the area that already is available. Not only of species of butterflies but also on anthropology, development, forestry, etc.

Preparation of food and drinks.It is important to prepare on the existence of food and drinks. What do you have to bring with you and what is available in the area. Some vegetables and fruits can be obtained from locals, so this means less weight in your luggage.

Preparation of informative letters. It may be important to have informative letters for “Kepala Dessa” or other representatives of authorities, to inform those people about the purpose of your visit and research. In such a letter the names of the research team should be mentioned and the duration of the visit. This letter should be given to the “Kepala Dessa” or others and should be made by UNCEN or other institutions. .

Preparation of medicines.Not every researcher has a good health. Some might have special diseases, like gout or allergies. Diseases which makes it necessary to have special medicines and which may not be available in the research area. A good preparation is needed to have these medicines available when necessary.

Preparations of tools and equipment.Tools and equipment that you need will be prepared before you start, like a net, envelopes, forceps, GPS, camera, etc. If you want to collect at night you need a generator, lamp, cable, etc. and also killing bottles. ..

Your own preparation. For doing fieldwork it is important to be fit. Pay attention to your private luggage, like clothing, a sleeping bag, soap, comb, money, etc. Your private belongings should be carried by yourself without the help of other people. If the total luggage is too heavy the whole team should be responsible for it. It is important to plan what is needed to bring with you.

Motivation.It is necessary that the survey has a scientific purpose. It is not appreciated when members of the team change their plan during the field survey. If, for instance, the purpose is butterflies, please do not change this to beetles, flies, etc. during the research. However, if there is a necessity for changing the subject it should be discussed with the research team.

Pray. Where we are weak we trust on God. We hope we will be safe without any accidents. Let’s hope for the results we are working for.

Finally. Each researcher needs different preparations, depending on the course you take and the area you go to. A good preparation is the beginning of your success in your research. (Based on experience with some surveys that already took place)

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4.Yohannes Bosco Maro
Survey at Marina Valen

The Mamberamo area is proposed to become a reserve by Petocz (1987), because of its high biodiversity. Conservation International wants to survey this area and invited Br. Henk van Mastrigt, who on his turn invited Yohanes Don Bosco Maro and Rinto H. Mambrasar to accompany him on that trip.
Marina Valen, located about 2º 23’ S and 138º 12’ E, has a population of 194 inhabitans, surviving with gardening, hunting and fishing. Four habitat were selected for the survey: 1. primary forest at Mt Hacauwa (540 m), 2. side of the River Kena (60 m), 3. primary forest (120 m) and garden area (80 m).
In 18 days 117 different butterfly species (Papilionoidea) were recorded: 10 Papilionidae, 10 Pieridae, 45 Lycaenidae and 52 Nymphalidae.
The threat to nature in this area at the moment is only the hunting and fishing by natives. Full results of this survey is presented in three papers: a training report, a final paper by Yohanes Bosco Maro (2004 and 2005) and a training report by Rinto H. Mambrasar (2004).

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5.Edy Rosariyanto
Opportunities and challenges for insect research in Papua

Abstract will follow soon.

Chances and challenges for research at insects in Papua
In July 2006, during the butterfly survey in Serui (Japen), I felt that the cooperation with the present scientists working at dragonflies (Odonata) and beetles (Coleoptera), was very pleasant and created a challenge. By curiosity some questions came up in my mind: How do they collect insects in the field? Do they collect with the same methods like with butterflies? How do they preserve the specimens? What do I pay attention to after I collected the specimens? I understood that different insect orders need different strategies for this, although there are some similarities.Before the cooperation with the scientists I knew only little about research methods and strategies of collecting by reading some books. But by this cooperation and with practice in the field I learned more about this matter than you can ever learn from a book. For example, the working of a so called “pit fall trap” I could only guess from an obscure picture but now I could see it actually work.

Chances.
During the days that I was involved in the workgroup dragonflies, beetles and butterflies, I learned a lot. This new knowledge concerns different items.
At first, the colour of the insects. For example the different species of flies (Diptera) at first seem to have only dark colours of black and blue, but at daytime the variation of colour appears to be a lot wider than only a few differences.
Secondly, there are the sources to feed. Flies, for instance, seem to be attracted by the smell of rotting fish, disgusting for humans, but for flies very delicious.
The third interesting fact is that every species has its own specific distribution. One species only occurs at higher altitudes, the other can only be found in the lowlands, and there are species that are distributed in both. These three facts interest me most and invite me to start research with the students on these subjects, to discover unknown species, to reveal the biodiversity of our nature. Many areas in Papua are still unexplored and form a white spot (“warna putih”); to make inventories of the biodiversity of these areas is necessary. By systematic inventories of more and more areas all these white spots will be explored which results in more expertise in research of biodiversity, like Lokakarya Biodiversitas on Biak in 1997, supported by LIPI, UNCEN, Conservation International and other institutions.

Challenges
It is a fact that someone who wants to do research of biodiversity in Papua needs to specialize. Science cannot be undertaken by dreaming, it needs planning, reading, writing and fieldwork. Will that be sufficient? To my experience, no. What we need is assistance and guiding of scientists and teachers. The influence of the scientists expands our views because of the teaching of their knowledge and expertise. It is for instance easier to identify species with the help of their knowledge than to try it yourself. Another problem we came across in field trips (with exception of Br. Henk van Mastrigt) is the use of the language. The scientists generally use the English language but this is not our mother language. The result may be that there are some miscommunications. But I have hopes that this will also lead to creativity and respect of both parties. A third challenge is literature study. For us, literature is rather inaccessible and mostly in English. Before students start with their field project they need to gather the needed literature and try to translate it. A fourth challenge is the need of support for students to start a scientific study.  With some extra help the knowledge of the students can be increased and they will be encouraged to study the unknown.

Finally
The world of insects is not limited to butterflies alone, but also concerns dragonflies, beetles, flies, bees, grasshoppers and others. Until now the research methods are very basic but the butterfly workgroup is refining and learning and the research at it is developing. Introduction to the biodiversity of other insect orders will result in more knowledge of the insects of Papua. Who has the courage to take these chances with all these challenges which are not easy?

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6.Henk van Mastrigt
8th New Guinea Biology Conference

At the 8th New Guinea Biology Conference (Port Moresby (PNG), 26-28 September, 2006) 38 presentations were held, three by key-note speakers and 35 results of surveys. Five presentations were concerning entomological items, of which four were results of the New Guinea Research Center in Madang. The kind of surveys will be good examples for students and teachers in Papua. 
Markus Manumbor – Studying insects communities in PNG rainforests: a parataxonomist approach.
Darren Bito – Geographic variability of moth communities on the alien tree Spathodea campanulata in New Guinea and Bismarck Archipelago.
Steven Sau – Host specialization of leaf miners in lowland rainforest.
Elvis Tamtiai – Geographic distribution of Lepidoptera in PNG rainforest.
Leontine Baje – Host specialization of sap sucking insects in a lowland rainforest.

Suara Serangga Papua, 2006, 1 (1) July – October 2006

1.Henk van Mastrigt
Introduction of SUGAPA

Editorial
The editorial mentioned this edition as first number of a new magazine, edited and distributed by Kelompok Entomologi Papua (KEP), Entomological Workgroup in Papua and displays entomological information about Papua (formerly Irian Jaya Province), to enlarge the knowledge of the biodiversity of our nature, in order to be able to make conservation possible.

History
The first survey by Henk van Mastrigt with a student of the local University of Cenderawasih (UNCEN) was in 1996 to the Wandammen Mountains. Since 2001 Henk has been accompaning students in one or more surveys yearly. The collected specimens are in his private collection in Jayapura, now named Koleksi Serangga Papua (KSP, Papua Insect Collection), with over 42,000 specimens. Participants of the surveys became a member of a workgroup on entomology, which held its first meeting on November 9th 2005 and its second meeting on May 27th 2006, in which was decided to start a magazine, to have an own telephone number and e-mail address and to intensify its activities. So, the date of that second meeting was chosen as our birthday.

Vision and mission
KEP wants to survey the insect fauna of Papua, in order to know its biodiversity which will help to conserve Papua’s nature, in cooperation with various organizations and private persons (specialists in entomology) from inside and outside the country. Famous organizations as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Conservation International (CI) have been working on this item from years and years, but their focus is more the larger animals as mamalia, birds and reptiles.
KEP also wants to provide information to above mentioned organizations, about endemism and results from ‘hot spots’, in order to preserve Papua’s forests. Information we forward to websites a.o. www.delias-butterflies.co.uk and www.papua-insects.nl and can be found in papers of students.
At the same time KEP wants to help teachers and students of the UNCEN and other universities in Papua, and support working at inventories and surveys on insects in Papua.
The results of these cooperations will help KEP to determine the ‘hot spots’ of biodiversity in Papua.

Plans for the next future
After the publication of “Buku Panduan Kupu-kupu” (see book corner) on butterflies from the Mamberamo area to the Cyclops Mountains, the idea was to publish more field guides from other areas in Papua. The Schouten Islands north of Papua (Numfor, Supiori, Biak, Japen and some other smaller islands) will be next, followed by the Birdshead Peninsula, including the Peninsula Raja Ampat, Tamrau and Arfak Mountains, Onin and Wandammen Peninsula. The priority of surveys is not only depending from the above mentioned targets, but also from the origin of the local students, invitations of organizations and sponsoring.

Content and purpose of magazine
In Suara Serangga Papua KEP want to publish – step by step – results of entomological surveys in the past and about other papers on entomology in Papua, and report the results of new surveys.
The editors will receive short articles from members of KEP and other interested people about themes which contribute to the entomological knowledge on Papua.
The magazine will be distributed to non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) in Papua interested in ecology and entomology, to governmental departments, universities and highschools, private subscribers and the members of KEP.

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2.Henk van Mastrigt
Survey on the Pantai Timur Islands

Six students of the UNCEN visited the small islands in the district Pantai Timur (139º07’/139º30’ longitude, -1º58’/-2º07’ latitude) in the period July 15 – August 12, 2002. Three students visited Wakde, Masi-masi and Yamna, the others Podena, Yarson and Anus. The islands vary in size from 0.3 km2 (Podena) to 3 km2 (Wakde). 
A total of 59 species Lepidoptera were collected, of which 53 species on the three westernmost islands (Yamna being the richest with 40 species) and 37 species on the three eastern islands (Anus being the richest with 29 species).
The results of the survey of the western islands are reported by Alfrets Randang (2003), that of the eastern islands are reported by Henoch Wanggori (2004), who also made a comparisson between these results and those of the Mamberamo area, where once 129 species were collected: 26 species (44%) from the Pantai Timur Islands were not reported from the Mamberamo survey in the surrounding of Dabra.

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3.Henk van Mastrigt
Survey on the Kumamba Islands

Six students of UNCEN visited the Kumamba Islands, north of Sarmi, from July 16th till August 12, 2002. The survey focussed on the population of Papilionoidea, mainly on the largest island Liki. The other two islands, Lambutu and Armo, were visited as well. 
A total of 60 species Lepidoptera were recorded: 52 on Liki, 4 on Lambutu and 22 on Armo. It comprises 4 Papilionidae, 5 Pieridae, 27 Lycaenidae and 24 Nymphalidae.
Remarkable was the absence of Graphium species and the high abundancy of Leptotes plinius at only a small area along the coast. Cyrestes acilia appeared to be very different from specimens on the mainland of New Guinea, and finally, Cepora perimale was only found on the smallest island, Lambutu, not on the other islands! Unfortunately the results are not yet reported.

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4.Rinto H. Mambrasar
Survey on the island Numfor

In the months July and August in 2005 a survey was held on Numfor Island, with the purpose of collecting data of Papilionoidea and to make a comparisson between the distributions inside and outside the proposed nature reserve area (ca 1000 ha). The island Numfor is 391 km2 and has a maximum altidude of 200 meters. Its geographic position is between 134º47’ and 135º00’ longitude, and -0º57’ and -1º08’ latitude. There are about 9000 inhabitans.
The island was divided in six transects for observations, three of them outside the nature reserve (secundairy forest with gardens, a coastline and villages) and three inside the nature reserve (primary forest, secundairy forest with old gardens and secundairy forest with young gardens).
In 26 days 90 species of Lepidoptera were recorded: 9 Papilionidae, 12 Pieridae, 41 Lycaenidae and 28 Nymphalidae. Only one species was found exclusively outside the reserve. 
Threat of the biodiversity is caused by illegal deforestation by the local people, who also catch many birds. The establishment of many cocoa plantations and plans of a governmental restructurization, with the increase of cultivation, form serious threats to the flora and fauna of the island.

A complete report of the results of this survey is published in the essay of Rinto H. Mambrasar, to accomplishment of his study at the biological department of the FMIPA at the University of Cenderawasih in Jayapura.

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