Bogong moths first insect known to use magnetic sense in long-distance nocturnal migration

Each spring, millions of nocturnal Bogong moths hatch across breeding grounds throughout southeastern Australia before flying over 1,000 kilometers through the dark night to reach a limited number of high alpine caves in the Australian Alps. After a few months of summer dormancy in those cool mountain caves, the moths fly right back to the breeding grounds where they were born. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology on June 21 have found that the moths, like migratory birds, depend on the Earth’s magnetic field to guide them on their way.