This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: In recent weeks, people across Australia have found fluttering bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) in their homes, cars and even bedrooms. These insects have embarked on their annual migration from breeding grounds across southern Australia to the cool caves of the Australian Alps.
For entomologists, or insect scientists, like me who have studied these moths for years, it's been a hopeful sight. But it hasn't changed the fact that bogong moths remain endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Species. Bogong moths are at risk of extinction due to climate change heating up their mountain boulderfields.
Scientists are keen to understand why bogong moth numbers have surged in cities this year. More food, favorable breeding conditions and strong winds carrying moths toward the coast could all have contributed. It's unclear whether the bogong population is rebuilding after years of decline or if we are just seeing them more in cities this year.
In many places, scientists can model and predict bird migrations. But we can't do that for bogong moths until we learn more about their biology and movement patterns. Dedicated citizen scientists are helping fill these knowledge gaps.
When researchers like me discover something new, we usually publish a scientific paper about it and then spend years trying to tell everyone what we've learned. But this spring, it's felt like we've gained millions of colleagues, with Australians recording hundreds of bogong moth sightings in a matter of months. These observations provide crucial information, such as how much bogong moths seem to prefer Callistemons (bottlebrushes) and Grevilleas (spider flowers), something unknown a month or so ago.
In 2000, when a vast cloud of moths famously engulfed the stadium where the Sydney Olympics closing ceremony was unfolding, we didn't have many online platforms to document insect sightings. Today, this is as easy as taking a photo and sharing it on biodiversity platforms like iNaturalist and social media. Because bogong moths can be almost everywhere, the species may appear to be thriving.
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