03/10/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1TVAcGDvtN/
THEY’RE NOT A PLAGUE. THEY’RE RETURNING. 🦋🏔️
Right now, millions of small brown moths are appearing across Sydney, the Hawkesbury, Illawarra and the South Coast.
They’re covering walls, gathering around lights and finding their way into homes.
But before you reach for the spray, know what you’re looking at.
These are Bogong moths, and their journey across Country is ancient.
For countless generations, Aboriginal peoples of south eastern Australia have known the arrival of the Bogong moth as part of the seasonal calendar.
Their migration signalled movement through Country towards the high mountains, where Aboriginal groups gathered for ceremony, trade, sharing knowledge, strengthening relationships and feasting on the moths.
Long before scientists tracked their migration, Aboriginal people knew where they travelled, when they would arrive and where they gathered in the mountains.
And then, frighteningly, the moths almost disappeared.
Before 2017, billions of Bogong moths made this migration each year. Following severe drought, their numbers crashed dramatically. Alpine caves that once held thousands upon thousands of moths became almost empty.
In 2021, the Bogong moth was assessed as endangered on the IUCN Red List.
So what some people are calling a “moth plague” may actually represent something worth celebrating.
The return of an ancient migration.
These tiny moths are extraordinary.
Weighing less than a gram, Bogong moths can migrate hundreds of kilometres from inland breeding grounds towards the Australian Alps.
Research has found they can navigate using the night sky and Earth’s magnetic field.
Along the journey they feed on flowers, and when they finally reach the mountains they become an important food source for another threatened Australian animal, the mountain pygmy possum.
Everything is connected.
Country. Seasons. Moths. Mountains. Animals. People.
That understanding of connection sits at the heart of Aboriginal knowledge systems and caring for Country.
So if a Bogong moth lands at your place tonight, maybe look at it differently.
Turn unnecessary outside lights off so they can continue their journey.
Don’t spray them.
If one comes inside, gently catch it and release it outside.
And if you see them, record your sighting through Zoos Victoria’s Moth Tracker to help researchers understand their migration.
They’ve been making this journey across Country for thousands of generations.
We’re just watching them pass through. 🦋
Give the little travellers some space.
They’ve got somewhere important to be. 🏔️❤️
