Forest for Life

Lucanid beetles play a very important role in forest ecosystem and a crucial element of biodiversity. The existency of lucanid beetle plays a vital role in forest ecosystem especially in maintaining the stability and equilibrium of forest food web. Some beetles remove other animal's dung from the environment by feeding on it or by using it to feed and house their newly-laid eggs. Some beetles pollinate plants, and some are effective biocontrol agents, preying on plant-eating insects. Beetles may feed on other animals (carnivorus), dead or decaying animal matter (saprophagous), plants (phytophagous) or decomposing, fragmented organic matter (detriophagous).

In the case of Mount Salak, besides having vital role to the ecosystem, Lucanid beetles has a high economical value to some of the community living around the forest area of Mount Salak. Because of its attractive shape and appearances, this beetles has attracted many

buyers and collectors for souvenir, toys and even for traditional medicine. Many species of beetle from Mount Salak has become trade commodity locally, nationally and even internationally with viariety of prices from thousands to million of rupiah (Indonesian currency). Because of high demand and high value, the hunting of these beetle has increased tremendously and effecting the number of beetle population in the wild. From time to time, the population of lucanid beetle in Mount Salak has decreased rapidly and will not be suprising if this species would soon become critically endangered.

Beetle's hunting in Mount Salak also has consequences to forest degradation. To set up hunting trap (using light trap), hunters usually clear up an area of 10 x 20 m inside the forest by cutting down bushes and trees. The hunter usually stayed for about a week in one hunting site before moving to the other. If this activites continues without any act of anticipation, soon large number of

Mount Salak, the last remaining

mountainous tropical rain forest

National Park in Java, Indonesia.

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TRADE OF LUCANID BEETLE IN MOUNT SALAK

Forest for Life

area of Mount Salak. This has to do with the intensity of light the coorporation set up on their powerplant in Mount Salak. These high intensity of light are attracting the beetles to fly out from their habitat in the forest. The beetles usually searching for light to warm their body temperature. Local people who lives near the poweplant usually gathered around these light and they will catch the beetles who fly straight to the light. After they have been caught they will be sell to the collector. Besides this method of collecting beetles, there is another way these local people collecting the beetle by directly hunting in the forest corridor of Mount Salak Halimun.

For the 2007 hunting season we begin to collect data on beetles trading in Mount Salak on the month of January. Hunters usually begin their hunting season on the end of wet/rainy season until the beginning of the next wet season (Indonesia has only two season, wet and dry season). We had information from several local hunters that most of them will begin their beetles hunting around the middle of January or early February, this may be has to do with reproduction cycle of the beetles, but this still yet to be confirmed. The hunters said that on the month of January or February usually the population of beetle are high so the changes for them to be caught are high too. To catch the beetles, hunter usually uses light trap build manually by themselves. They used white cloth to form the screen and for lighting they used traditional light with kerosene as fuel. The beelte will fly toward the light and hit the cloth screen just behind the light and fall to the ground, as simple as that the hunters then collected the beetles.

We begin to collect data from several local hunters who live in the village of Cipeuteuy. Cipeuteuy is a small village located on the edge of forest corridor of Mount Salak Halimun. Almost 90 percent of its population are farmers. For the past 5 months (January Mei) we have interviewed 10 local hunters and 2 local collector. It was not easy to gather the information on beetles trade because

area within the forest of Mount Salak will be cleard up.

From the aspect of local community or local hunters, beetle's hunting and trading still consider as a sensitive issue because it involves generating income for their livelihood. It is understood that some of the hunters were not opened when we try to discuss about the activity of beetle hunting. For the declining of population of beetles in Mount Salak we can not just blame the local hunters. Most of the hunters are farmer and they are categorized as poor community. For local people, they are able to provide for their family from these bangbung sales. But hunting activities usually just become a side job to their main activities which is farming. These hunters usually don't hunt when there is no demand or no market for them to sell. So the key factor which contribute to the continuation of beetle hunting and trading in Mount Salak are the existence of buyer and market. If we cut down the buyer and market, we believe that the hunters will not hunt anymore.

Investigation of Beetles Trade in Mount Salak, West JavaThe history of beetle's hunting in Mount Salak has lasted for several years back and reach the highest number when a geothermal coorporation started to operate in the

Traditional light trap used by

local hunters to harvest beetles.

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Forest for Life

we can't just go straight to the hunters and asked them directly about the beetles hunting because they usually won't tell you anything. We need times to get acquainted with these people and talks about anything else besides beetle. After we had their trust and they believe they can trust us, slowly we can begin to ask them about their hunting activities, why they doing it, whom they will sell the catch, and how big is this hunting contribute to their family income. Almost all the hunters told us that they are doing this to get additional income for their family, because if they only rely from the farming activities it won't be enough to support their family. But ironically these hunters also told us if there are no demand or buyer they will stop hunting too.

Web of trade of Lucanid beetle in Mount Salak in GeneralThe pattern of the beetles trade in Mount Salak are very complicated and involving long chain of trade web. The hunt usually takes about 3-6 hours, local hunters usually hunt at 6 o'clock in the evening to 9 o'clock or to midnight. After the hunt they usually take both dead and live beetles. Live beetles have higher prices. Beetles usually kept on plastic bottle filled with wood pieces. The next day after the beetles had been collected, these beetles were

stsold to the local collecter (we call it 1 collector) whom usually live in the same village with local hunters. The local collector are also hunter

stthemselves. From this 1 collector

ndthe beetles then sold to the 2 collector which collected beetles at

ndthe district level area. The 2 collector usually are not local resident and they themselves will come to the local village to buy the beetles. A week before they came to the village

ndthey usually already contacted the 2 collector to order specific species that

ndwill going to be buy. From the 2 rdcollector the beetle then sold to the 3

collector whom usually at the trade rdlevel of province area. After the 3

collector the beetles will pooled in big collector in Jakarta (capital city of Indonesia) then exported to foreign countries. So far Japan has become the number one country in the world in importing these beetles, although still have not known what these beetles are for. Some collector says that in Japan these beetles are used for private insect collection, for souvenir and even for traditional medicine.

Variety of beetles prices from local trading in Mount Salak.According to local hunters, the price of lucanid beetles varies depends on species and quality. Quality can be judged by looking at its size, body shape, and whether the species is dead or alive. Longer size and complete body shape will enventually have a higher prices. Next page are tabel of variety of beetles prices from local trading in the area of Mount Salak.

One species of beetle chewing

on sugarcane.

Decay wood, a perfect habitat

for beetle to live and reproduce.

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Forest for Life

Lesson learned from investigating beettles trading in Mount SalakEventhough the conservation status of these beetles are still uncertain, or even not listed in the IUCN and CITES, this does not mean that the beetle population are safe from extinction. Even as the bangbung population is decreasing in Mount Salak, the number of local beetle hunters is still exists and increasing. As long as the trading system and markets (national and international) still exists, the activities of beetle hunting will not stop. The intensity of the trading will fluctuate according to demands and market prices. Hunters in Mount Salak usually come from poor family who do not have any other choices for the family income. They took all the risk to do hunting just to have additional income for their family. But ironically these hunters usually don't hunt when there is no great deal of demand or buyer.

Local hunter finished setting up traditional light trap and ready

to wait for the night catch.

The famous three-horned lucanid beetle.

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Prices (in IDR) No Local Name (Beetles)

Good Quality Poor Quality 1. Metalik/Semen Rp 60,000 300,000 Rp 5,000 2. Janggrang Rp 25,000 90,000 Rp 5,000 15,000 3. Capit Kebo Rp 5,000 45,000 Rp 5,000 4. Capit Kunci Rp 7,500 45,000 Rp 5,000 5. Engket-Engekt Rp 2,500 5,000 Rp 2,500 6. Zebra Rp 2,500 - 5,000 Rp 2,500