Australian moths use the stars as a compass on 1000-km migrations
Bogong moths are the first invertebrates known to navigate using the night sky during annual migrations to highland caves
By James Woodford
18 June 2025
Bogong moths migrate to cool caves in the summer
Dr. Ajay Narendra/Macquarie University, Australia
An Australian moth that migrates over 1000 kilometres to seek respite from summer heat is the first known invertebrate to use the stars as a compass on long journeys.
Every spring, billions of bogong moths travel from various parts of southern Australia to cool caves in the Australian Alps after spending the winter as caterpillars feeding on vegetation. Once in the caves, they have a long period of inactivity, called aestivation, before returning to their breeding grounds.
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It has long been a mystery exactly how these moths, whose numbers have been collapsing in recent years, navigate so far to these high country caves, says Andrea Adden at the Francis Crick Institute in London.
Previous studies have shown that they are able to use Earth’s electromagnetic field, but only in combination with landmarks they can see. Adden and her colleagues wanted to find out what other cues the moths may be using to navigate.
“If you go to the Australian bush, where these moths live, and look around at night, one of the most striking visual landmarks is the Milky Way,” she says. “We know that daytime migratory insects use the sun, so testing the starry sky seemed an obvious thing to try.”
