<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/09/massive-swarms-of-bogong-moths-once-resembled-rain-clouds-then-their-numbers-crashed-to-earth>
"The bogong moth was once so abundant it was mistaken for weather. During
Sydney’s Olympic Games in 2000, a swarm of bogong moths attracted by stadium
lights was so huge that meteorologists mistook it for a rain cloud.
But the species known as “deberra” in Taungurung language – an insect with deep
cultural and ecological importance, but which is smaller and lighter than a
paperclip – has not returned to those numbers since the population collapsed by
up to 99.5% in the two years before 2019.
In February the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, decided against listing
the species as threatened under federal conservation laws, citing gaps in data
and uncertainties about the moth’s population due to limited monitoring and its
migratory nature. The bogong moth has been on the global endangered list
compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature since 2021.
Prof Brendan Wintle, a lead councillor at the Biodiversity Council and a
conservation ecologist at the University of Melbourne, calls Plibersek’s
decision “very disappointing” given that most experts agree the species is in
trouble."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
