The Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa) is a temperate species of night-flying moth notable for appearing in large numbers around major public buildings in Canberra, the capital city of Australia, during spring (late September to November). The moth's name is reported as having come from their occurrence on granite mountains - known as "Bogongs" by local Indigenous Australians^[1], and said to be the translation of the word "Canberra" in the Ngunawal language of those locals^[2].

Ecology and life cycle

The Bogong moth Agrotis infusa is common throughout southern Australia. These brown to blackish moths have a wingspan of approximately 45 millimetres. Adults make lengthy migrations to spend summer months in large congregations in caves and crevices of rocks in the Australian Alps, notably in the region of the Bogong High Plains in Victoria. They are attracted to lights, like those seen at night in the Sydney and Canberra areas. They were notable in broadcasts of the Sydney 2000 Olympics Opening Ceremony on 15 September. Large numbers may enter houses or other buildings to rest during the day. In winter, adults disperse to pastures across inland New South Wales and Queensland to lay their eggs.

This subfamily are characterised by their stoutly built bodies covered with long dense scales.

The larvae, collectively known as cutworms, are also stoutly built. They feed on a wide variety of plants (see list below). The name cutworm comes from the larvae's habit of cutting off plant parts during the night which they drag back to their burrows in the soil as food.

The Bogong moth is univoltine (i.e. it has one generation per year). The Lepidopteran life cycle consists of four stages; ova (eggs), several larval instars (caterpillars), pupa (cocoon), and imagines (adults).

Cultural uses

Indigenous Australians living in south eastern Australia were known to have feasted on the moths, benefiting from their rich fat reserves, when the moths were plentiful. The moths were generally roasted and eaten whole.^[1] This cultural use is no longer practised. The term "Urri Arra" refers to the Bogong moth feasts that these Aboriginal people held.

A town, Bogong, in the Victoria state of Australia has been named after the moth.^[3]

Infestations

Bogong Moths on 56-70 Phillip Street, Sydney, October 2007

Close up of Bogong Moths, Sydney, October 2007

Notes

1. ↑ ^{a b}
2. ↑ Ngunawal
3. ↑ Physical Map of Australia, special advertising feature of Australia.com on pg 16, National Geographic magazine, May 2006, Washington DC

Recorded host plants

• Beta - Beet
• Brassica
• Hordeum - Barley
• Linum - Flax
• Medicago - Alfalfa
• Pisum - Pea
• Solanum
• Triticum - Wheat
• Pinus - Radiata Pine

External links

• Bogong moth - CSIRO Division of Entomology

• Bogongs Migrating South - abc.net.au/science/scribblygum

• Unskilled migrants swarm to the city - Report in Sydney Morning Herald 10 October 2007

• Arsenic found in Alps bogong moths

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