Bogong Moth Migration — Canberra to Snowy Mountains, ACT & NSW
Each spring, billions of bogong moths (*Agrotis infusa*) navigate by starlight from their breeding grounds in southern Queensland and New South Wales to aestivate in cool alpine caves — passing through Canberra in such enormous numbers that buildings are plastered with resting moths, Parliament House dims its lights to avoid attracting them, and at dusk the sky darkens with the mass. In the high country above 1,800 m, at cave entrances on Mt Kosciuszko, hundreds of thousands pack into rocky overhangs so densely that rock surfaces disappear under living brown carpets — an event that has sustained mountain pygmy possums and drew First Nations ceremonial gatherings for millennia.
About this spectacle
Each spring, billions of bogong moths lift off from their lowland breeding grounds and navigate by starlight toward the cool granite peaks of the Snowy Mountains. Passing through Canberra, they blanket building facades in restless brown masses so thick that Parliament House dims its external lights to reduce attraction. At altitude, above 1,800 m on Mt Kosciuszko and surrounding peaks, cave entrances and rocky overhangs become living tapestries — hundreds of thousands of moths packed wing-to-wing, their dark bodies erasing the rock surface beneath them. The air around these refuges hums with soft wingbeats and carries the faintly musty scent of crowded insects. At dusk the sky above the high country visibly darkens with moving columns. Mountain pygmy possums emerge to gorge on the protein-rich arrivals. The spectacle is at once urban and wild: from city streetlights draped in moths to remote alpine caves accessible only by trail, visitors experience nature operating at a scale that feels almost geological in its mass.
When to go
Oct — Apr, peak Oct — Nov
Getting there
Nearest airport: CBR. Nearest city: Canberra.
Booking options
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