A. Bodong donated a collection of 1442 insects representing 391 species, most coleoptera but including hemiptera, to the South African Museum in 1902. Sixty-four of the species were new to the museum's collections. He followed this up in 1903 with a donation of new and rare insects of various orders, including ants from Umtali (now Mutare, Zimbabwe, on the Mozambique border), and with further insects in 1904. He may have been living in Beira, Mozambique during these years, for this was his address in 1905 when he became a member of the South African Philosophical Society. He remained a member when this society became the Royal Society of South Africa in 1908, still living in Beira.
