Bogong moth diet
They feed on nectar to build up fat reserves that sustain them over summer. Occasionally found in New Zealand and Norfolk Island. During spring, they fly south to south-eastwards, to high altitude regions in the southern part of the Dividing Range, where they remain inactive (aestivation) throughout the summer months. Bogong Moths live in urban areas, forests and woodlands. Bogong Moths belong to the Family Noctuidae and are well known in south-eastern Australia for their mass migration in spring. Their migratory behaviour makes it difficult to monitor populations. Adult Bogong Moths eat nectar and feed on plants as larvae. The arsenic becomes concentrated because of the build-up of dead moths on the floor of the cave over many years. The arsenic is present at low levels in the soil of their larval pasturelands and is stored in the body of the adult moth. During winter, Bogongs feed inland as black cutworms on seedlings of wide-leafed plants in an area ranging from southern Queensland to South Australia. The common name comes from Bogong High Plains region in the Victorian Alps, which is one of the sites where the adult moths congregate in huge numbers over the summer months. They eat a variety of plants, including introduced crops. Their drab colouring provides good camouflage for hiding in crevices during the day.
At dusk they become active, and fly through the night. Here the females deposit around 2000 eggs and the larvae (or caterpillars) feed and develop. Furthermore, the caterpillars are crop pests and millions are destroyed by pesticides each year. Adult Bogong Moths are grey-brown with dark mottles and eye spots. In some years, they have descended upon cities such as Sydney and Canberra in their thousands, causing disruption around outdoor sports grounds and to air-conditioning plants. The arsenic could potentially adversely affect their predators, including the Mountain Pygmy Possum, but this has not yet been fully demonstrated. The annual migration of Bogong Moths begins in their winter breeding grounds in the Darling Downs of Queensland and the dry inland regions of New South Wales and Victoria. Bogong Mouths are found in southern Australia, including Tasmania. The caterpillars are known as cutworms because they chew through plant stems at ground level. Over summer, adults congregate in rock crevices in massive numbers and remain dormant, living off their fat reserves. They are sometimes blown towards the coast by westerly winds and may enter houses as they are attracted to light. Recently concern has mounted about arsenic levels in the Bogong Moths. HOW BIG THEY ARE Size relative to a sparrow. They create a massive influx of high-fat, high-protein food to alpine ecosystems and are feasted upon by marsupials. There is some concern about the moths accumulating arsenic in their bodies while feeding in the lowlands, then carrying it into fragile alpine ecosystems.
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