![]() ![]() Once there they mate, lay their eggs and die, and the Bogong moth life cycle starts afresh.įigure 2. Then, awakened from their long dormancy, these moths leave their caves and return to where they came from, making long journeys back to their breeding grounds. Here they stay in a dormant torpid state (known as “estivation”) for up to 4 months, neatly tiling the cool rock walls of the caves (Figure 3B) until the beginning of the following autumn-an astonishing 17,000 of them per square metre ( Common, 1954). Flying from the dry plains of southern Queensland, western and northwestern New South Wales (NSW) and western Victoria, they seek out the shelter of cool mountain caves and rock crevices dotted across the alpine landscape, gradually congregating there in their billions (Figure 3 Green, 2010a). From this analysis it becomes clear that the Bogong moth represents a new and very promising model organism for understanding the sensory basis of nocturnal migration in insects.Įvery spring, newly eclosed Bogong moths Agrotis infusa (Figure 1)-modest-looking brown nocturnal moths of the family Noctuidae-embark on a remarkable long-distance migration of up to 1000 km towards the high alpine areas of southeastern Australia (Figure 2). Here we review our current knowledge of the Bogong moth, including its natural history, its ecology, its cultural importance to the Australian Aborigines and what we understand about the sensory basis of its long-distance nocturnal migration. How naïve moths manage this remarkable migratory feat still remains a mystery, although there are many potential sensory cues along the migratory route that moths might rely on during their journey, including visual, olfactory, mechanical and magnetic cues. Despite having had no previous experience of the migratory route, these moths find their way to the Alps and locate their estivation caves that are dotted along the high alpine ridges of southeastern Australia. The moths that hatch in the following spring then repeat the migratory cycle afresh. Once there, moths mate, lay eggs and die. Towards the end of the summer (February and March), the same individuals that arrived months earlier leave the caves and begin their long return trip to their breeding grounds. In hundreds of thousands, moths line the interior walls of these cool alpine caves where they “hibernate” over the summer months (referred to as “estivation”). Once in the Alps (from the end of September), Bogong moths seek out the shelter of selected and isolated high ridge-top caves and rock crevices (typically at elevations above 1800 m). After emerging from their pupae in early spring, adult Bogong moths embark on a long nocturnal journey towards the Australian Alps, a journey that can take many days or even weeks and cover over 1000 km. Like the Monarch butterflies of North America, Bogong moths make a yearly migration over enormous distances, from southern Queensland, western and northwestern New South Wales (NSW) and western Victoria, to the alpine regions of NSW and Victoria. The nocturnal Bogong moth ( Agrotis infusa) is an iconic and well-known Australian insect that is also a remarkable nocturnal navigator. 4Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.3New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, Jindabyne, NSW, Australia.2Department of Psychology, Queens University, Kingston, ON, Canada.1Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, University of Lund, Lund, Sweden. ![]() ![]() Eric Warrant 1*, Barrie Frost 2, Ken Green 3, Henrik Mouritsen 4, David Dreyer 1, Andrea Adden 1, Kristina Brauburger 1 and Stanley Heinze 1 ![]()
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