Billions of Bogong moths migrate to the Australian Alps each spring, using the stars for navigation. A study published in Nature demonstrates this celestial ability, making them the first invertebrate observed to navigate long distances via the night sky. Researchers tested wild moths in a flight simulator, revealing they could successfully navigate when exposed only to star projections. This discovery raises intriguing questions about how these moths, with no prior knowledge of the mountains, instinctively find their way to unknown caves every year, highlighting a remarkable aspect of their migration.
"The first time we saw them flying under the night sky with no other cue and flying in the right direction we had to hold on to the edge of the table."
"How on earth do they know how to find their way there?" Warrant says.
"When the moths did not have access to the projection of the sky or to the electromagnetic field, they were unable to navigate at all."
"But with access to only the visual cue of the stars, they were able to navigate in the seasonally appropriate direction."
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