Endangered bogong moths migrate in largest swarms seen in two years
Bogong moths are swarming across NSW in their largest visible migration in two years, suggesting recovery from a 99.5 per cent crash.
Thousands of bogong moths are swarming across NSW in an unusually visible migration. A Western Sydney University researcher reported more moths at mountain shelters than in his previous two years of monitoring.
Bogong moths travel up to 1000 kilometres by night, navigating using the Milky Way and the Earth's magnetic field. The species crashed by an estimated 99.5 per cent between 2017 and 2019.
It was listed as endangered in 2021. Researchers believe increased rainfall produced more food for larvae.
Warmer weather may have brought forward flowering of plants the adults eat. Scientists caution that it's too early to know if the surge is permanent.
They suggest what people are seeing may represent a return towards the scale of migration once considered normal. One conservation group received more reports in a single month this season than during its previous record year.
- 99.5 per cent
- Population crash percentage
- 2017-2019
- Crash period
- Up to 1000 kilometres
- Migration distance
- Connor Marsland, Western Sydney University
- Researcher
Why it mattersA surge in bogong moth numbers matters because the species nearly vanished, and researchers can now track whether the population is recovering or whether this was a one-off spike.
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