Scientists crack how tiny moths find their way across Australia
Scientists found bogong moths may use the Milky Way as a compass to guide their annual migration.
A Swedish biologist made a breakthrough studying bogong moths in caves on Mount Kosciuszko. The Swedish biologist discovered how an insect with a brain smaller than a pea travels thousands of kilometres across Australia each year.
Professor Eric Warrant found that bogong moths use the Milky Way as a compass. Some birds use the night sky the same way.
In tests with a moth flight simulator, researchers rotated the projected night sky by 180 degrees. The tethered moths turned and flew in the opposite direction.
The moths migrate south in spring to cool mountain caves to rest. They return north to their breeding grounds in Queensland, NSW and Victoria in autumn.
The findings help explain one of nature's most remarkable journeys.
- 2228 metres
- Mountain height
- University of Lund, Sweden
- Researcher location
- More than a decade
- Monitoring period
- Millions in a good year
- Moths in one cave
Why it mattersUnderstanding how insects navigate vast distances with tiny brains changes what we know about animal intelligence and migration.
AustraliaAustralia's bogong moths are revealed to be far more sophisticated navigators than scientists realised, highlighting how special these endemic insects are.
Corroborated byportnews.com.au
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 4 h ago
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