Why scientists are urging us to record bogong moth sightings

A winged Aussie icon* is set to take to our skies for its annual spring migration* and a sighting by an everyday Aussie could make all the difference to the species’ survival.

Last year, the Moth Tracker* website, where ordinary people can record sightings of bogong moths, received a record-breaking 1956 sightings of the endangered insects, with more than half of those verified* by species experts.

Now, Zoos Victoria is calling on young citizen scientists to help make 2025 the biggest year yet, as the moths embark on their 1000km journey across Australia to the alpine ranges.

Bogong moths are found in every state except the Northern Territory and naturally follow the light of stars and the earth’s magnetic fields, escaping the scorching summer heat of Southeast Australia in search of the cool caves of the Australian Alps. As the temperatures lower again in autumn, the moths go on a second migration back to their breeding grounds to reproduce.

“Bogong moths once numbered in the billions – they even made global headlines during the 2000 Sydney Olympics* – but their population collapsed by an estimated 99.5 per cent in 2017-2019 due to severe drought,” said Zoos Victoria senior conservation biologist Dr Marissa Parrott.

Dr Parrott said the tiny moths were important for the survival of another critically endangered critter.

“The moths begin their migration just as the mountain pygmy-possums are waking up from their hibernation under the snow,” she said. “The possums rely on the moths as a protein-rich meal during spring, when they’re busy raising litters of up to four young.”

A lot remains uncertain about bogong moth migration and every sighting logged to the Moth Tracker website helps scientists understand where and when the moths are flying as well as the size of their population. This data also helps conservationists step in with supplementary* feeding if the mountain pygmy-possums look likely to go hungry.

“If you think you’ve seen a bogong moth, take a photo and upload it to the Moth Tracker website, and our team at Zoos Victoria will verify it for you,” Dr Parrott said. “You don’t have to travel to see them. If you’re on the lookout, they may appear around your home or garden, on the street or in the bush.”

HOW TO SPOT A BOGONG MOTH
Bogong moths are only an inch long with brown-grey wings. They have easy to identify markings: a dark band that runs vertically along each wing divided by two grey splotches. The lowest splotch is shaped like a kidney. The moths may turn up by themselves but are known to hang about in large swarms when conditions are good.

Moths can get drawn away from their migration by bright lights, so remember to turn off unnecessary outdoor lights to help them on their way. If they are inside, you can gently pop them outside to fly away at nightfall.

For more information on Moth Tracker, check out the website: zoo.org.au/moth-tracker

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GLOSSARY

• icon: something that is symbolic of a culture
• migration: the mass seasonal movement of an animal species
• Moth Tracker: a website that enables ordinary people to upload photos of bogong moths in order to record sightings so that scientists get a good idea of how many moths there are and where in Australia they are at different times of the year. The data collected is used for conservation – both for bogong moths and mountain pygmy-possums, which eat bogongs while raising young
• verified: when an expert has looked at the photos and agreed that it is a bogong moth
• Sydney Olympics: a swarm of hundreds of thousands of bogong moths was mistaken for a massive rain cloud at the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics by the meteorology team overseeing the event, but when a moth landed on star singer Yvonne Kenny as she sang the Olympic hymn, it became clear the big blip on the weather radar was a swarm of moths that were attracted to the stadium lights
• supplementary: given extra food to replace the lack of bogong moths

EXTRA READING
Where have all the Bogong moths gone?
Giant moths tagged, tracked by plane
Heaviest moth in the world found at primary school

QUICK QUIZ
1. Why do bogong migrate to the alpine ranges every spring?
2. What caused bogong moths to become endangered?
3. What is the Moth Tracker website?
4. How big are bogong moths?
5. Why should you turn off unnecessary outdoor lights?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Fact Sheet
If more people know about the Moth Tracker, more useful data can be collected to help the Bogong Moths and the Mountain Pygmy-possums. Help spread awareness of the tracker by creating a fact sheet that you can show to family and friends. Your fact sheet should give them some information that will make them care enough to want to participate and the tools they need to do so, such as the knowledge to identify a Bogong Moth and what to do if they spot one.

Time: allow 45 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Science; Sustainability

2. Extension
Visit the Moth Tracker website and explore the information that is there. Write down 3 fascinating facts that you learn that weren’t already presented in the Kids News story.

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Personal and Social Capability

VCOP ACTIVITY
Let’s practise taking notes
When note-taking, we want to be able to extract the key pieces of information from the text or presentation. You start with determining the main idea: if you had to explain to someone in a sentence what the article is about, what would you say?

Then back up the main idea with two to four key points to support what you first stated.

What would you put as the main idea and supporting points to back up this article?

Once you have had a go at note-taking, share your results with a peer to see if you identified the same information or different.

Discuss the finding if you came up with different information.