Bogong Moth

Bogong moth

The bogong moth is a temperate species of night-flying moth, notable for its biannual long-distance seasonal migrations towards and from the Australian Alps, similar to the diurnal monarch butterfly. During the autumn and winter it is found in southern Queensland, western New South Wales, western Victoria, Tasmania and also in South and Western Australia. Adult bogong moths breed and larvae hatch during this period, consuming winter pasture plants during their growth. During the spring, the moths migrate south or east and reside in mountains such as Mount Bogong, where they gregariously aestivate over the summer until their return towards breeding grounds again in the autumn.

Moth

Moths are a group of winged insects of the order Lepidoptera, the other well-known members of which are butterflies; they are characterized by dark or dull patterned wings. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is paraphyletic with respect to butterflies and neither subordinate taxon is used in modern classifications. Moths make up the vast majority of the order. There are approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of which have yet to be described. Most species of moth are nocturnal, although there are also crepuscular and diurnal species.

bogong moth

Noun

1. A large nocturnal brown moth, Agrotis infusa, of southern Australia, traditionally part of the Aboriginal diet. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}