Auf der Jagd nach Libellennamen in Malawi

In Malawi, the Chichewa name tombolombo presumably stands for all dragonflies, all Anisoptera or all libellulids, rather than for Philonomon luminans only. It is possible that the low nutritional and traditional medical value may not have lead yet to a diversity of names for dragonflies. Some Malawian names presented for dragonflies and their larvae perhaps have a more generic meaning of insects, such as "bugs". The name tombolimbo used in Ngoni for dragonflies is more similar to the Chichewa one than that used by the Yao (chensoa) or the Zulu in South Africa.