Arabic version: ارتفاع مشاهدات عثّ بوغونغ مع وصول الهجرة إلى نيو ساوث ويلز

According to The Guardian, sightings of endangered bogong moths have increased over the past two years, with reports to Zoos Victoria’s Moth Tracker this September exceeding the platform’s total for 2025. Swarms have been seen across parts of New South Wales as the moths begin their annual migration to cool caves in the Australian Alps.

Each spring, bogong moths travel from breeding grounds in southern Queensland, NSW, the ACT, western Victoria and South Australia. They can fly up to 1,000km to reach alpine caves, where they spend summer escaping the heat. Dr Marissa Parrott, a reproductive biologist at Zoos Victoria, said an estimated 4 billion moths once arrived in the Alps annually before a severe population collapse.

Numbers fell by up to 99.5% between 2017 and 2019, a decline thought to be linked to severe drought in breeding areas. Wetter and cooler conditions this year are believed to be contributing to the latest rise in sightings. Strong winds have also pushed moths from more typical inland routes towards cities including Sydney and Canberra. Bogong Watch project manager Linnea Emneby said there are no certain estimates of the recent population, though the species appears to be recovering.

Experts advise people not to use insecticide if moths enter homes or workplaces. They recommend switching off unnecessary outdoor lights, shutting vents where possible and shaking laundry before bringing it inside. For moths already indoors, residents can turn off interior lighting and use an outdoor light to draw them out, or place a glass or container over an insect and slide paper underneath before releasing it outside.

The nocturnal moths navigate using the Milky Way and the Earth’s magnetic field. Their migration can take days to weeks, with insects emerging in waves and potentially sheltering during storms and rain. After spending summer in alpine caves, bogong moths return to breeding grounds in autumn to reproduce and die.