Once found in overwhelming numbers, bogong moths used to flood Parliament House in Canberra and even troubled athletes at the Sydney Olympics on their annual migration to the Australian alps.
But the bogong moth has now been declared endangered by world's leading scientific assessment of species vulnerability.
Mike Harding said
07:17 AM Dec 10, 2021
From the same ABC article:
"The main factor [in their decline] is probably the drought in New South Wales, which geographically speaking overlaps very closely with their breeding grounds"
Just part of the normal cycle of nature it seems.
dorian said
08:53 AM Dec 10, 2021
I still don't get it.
I remember driving through a bogong storm on a dry night with my windscreen wipers going. It's not as if Australian droughts and floods are rare phenomena.
Then there was my high school graduation night. The bogongs were in my prawn ****tail.
The ABC story says that numbers are down by 98% to 99%, but that's the difference between a plague and a normal population.
-- Edited by dorian on Friday 10th of December 2021 08:56:22 AM
Aus-Kiwi said
10:09 AM Dec 10, 2021
Yes you dont hear stories about mice dying ! Or locusts not around . How about flies ? Pfft!
SoloMC said
12:05 PM Dec 10, 2021
I remember reading about the early explorers watching the local tribes climb the mountain. They spent ages up the mountain and on their return they had put on lots of weight and their 'skin glistened'.
They had been gorging on moths.
So the explorers climbed up and saw the moths stacked 10 deep under overhangs.
Apparently they are very rich and loaded with goodness.
Ill stick to weetbix for now
Aus-Kiwi said
12:32 PM Dec 10, 2021
Aha whats in the weetbix ?
Mike Harding said
09:18 PM Dec 10, 2021
I guess it would be 15 years past when I was camped high up on a river in east Gippsland deep in the forest and probably the only light (Coleman pressure lamp) for a 50km radius when the Bogong moths attacked! :)
I was cooking a chilli in a wide saucepan and, eventually, gave up trying to pick the moths out of the food. Knowing the Aborigines use to feed on them I decided they could not be so bad and, thus, stirred them into the chilli and ate it. I live to tell the tale :)
However... next morning the Coleman lamp was almost full of moths.
Phlipper said
12:50 PM Dec 11, 2021
Also known to be a pest for our food crops, or to be precise the larvae, so decline is likely also linked to pesticides. Insect populations world wide are rapidly declining according to studies
Buzz Lightbulb said
03:43 PM Dec 11, 2021
I remember riding my motorbike from Sydney to Nowra. Somewhere along the way the Bogons were blown off course over to the coast.
My bike, leathers and helmet were all splattered with the Bogons. I had to stop every few kilometres to wipe my visor clean so that I could see.
Apparently the Bogons are going extinct because they aren't getting to their breeding grounds in the mountains. They are distracted by the bright lights of the towns and cities on the route from up North. Canberra is one of the main distractions.
Brodie Allen said
01:22 PM Dec 12, 2021
Not to mention bushfires and particularly burning off.
dorian said
08:54 AM Dec 16, 2021
The mice plague appears to be over, but the locust plague is just starting:
They are distracted by the bright lights of the towns and cities on the route from up North. Canberra is one of the main distractions.
Just like the Bogong moths, I also find Canberra an annoying distraction. Mainly due to the rubbish put out by our so called leaders
Buzz Lightbulb said
10:55 AM Dec 27, 2021
Aussie1 wrote:
Buzz Lightbulb wrote:
They are distracted by the bright lights of the towns and cities on the route from up North. Canberra is one of the main distractions.
Just like the Bogong moths, I also find Canberra an annoying distraction. Mainly due to the rubbish put out by our so called leaders
Parliament house contains those 'distractions' but most fly in from the rest of Australia to make policies that ruin the rest of our lives.
Aussie1 said
04:37 PM Dec 27, 2021
Buzz Lightbulb wrote:
Aussie1 wrote:
Buzz Lightbulb wrote:
They are distracted by the bright lights of the towns and cities on the route from up North. Canberra is one of the main distractions.
Just like the Bogong moths, I also find Canberra an annoying distraction. Mainly due to the rubbish put out by our so called leaders
Parliament house contains those 'distractions' but most fly in from the rest of Australia to make policies that ruin the rest of our lives.
Good point Cobber, maybe they should just "Moth Ball" Canberra
Buzz Lightbulb said
09:42 AM Dec 28, 2021
Aussie1 wrote:
Buzz Lightbulb wrote:
Aussie1 wrote:
Buzz Lightbulb wrote:
They are distracted by the bright lights of the towns and cities on the route from up North. Canberra is one of the main distractions.
Just like the Bogong moths, I also find Canberra an annoying distraction. Mainly due to the rubbish put out by our so called leaders
Parliament house contains those 'distractions' but most fly in from the rest of Australia to make policies that ruin the rest of our lives.
Good point Cobber, maybe they should just "Moth Ball" Canberra
I hope you just mean Parliament House. I wouldn't mind the 'bugs' in Parliament House being moth balled.
There are a lot of nice things in the rest of Canberra: War Memorial, Questacon, Old Parliament House, National Portrait Gallery, National Art Gallery, etcetera.
Aussie1 said
10:14 AM Dec 28, 2021
Buzz Lightbulb wrote:
Aussie1 wrote:
Buzz Lightbulb wrote:
Aussie1 wrote:
Buzz Lightbulb wrote:
They are distracted by the bright lights of the towns and cities on the route from up North. Canberra is one of the main distractions.
Just like the Bogong moths, I also find Canberra an annoying distraction. Mainly due to the rubbish put out by our so called leaders
Parliament house contains those 'distractions' but most fly in from the rest of Australia to make policies that ruin the rest of our lives.
Good point Cobber, maybe they should just "Moth Ball" Canberra
I hope you just mean Parliament House. I wouldn't mind the 'bugs' in Parliament House being moth balled.
There are a lot of nice things in the rest of Canberra: War Memorial, Questacon, Old Parliament House, National Portrait Gallery, National Art Gallery, etcetera.
Yes, just referring to Parliament House. Have a great New Year Cobber.
I remember the plagues. What happened?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-09/bogong-moth-grey-headed-flying-fox-endangered/100687642
Once found in overwhelming numbers, bogong moths used to flood Parliament House in Canberra and even troubled athletes at the Sydney Olympics on their annual migration to the Australian alps.
But the bogong moth has now been declared endangered by world's leading scientific assessment of species vulnerability.
From the same ABC article:
"The main factor [in their decline] is probably the drought in New South Wales, which geographically speaking overlaps very closely with their breeding grounds"
Just part of the normal cycle of nature it seems.
I still don't get it.
I remember driving through a bogong storm on a dry night with my windscreen wipers going. It's not as if Australian droughts and floods are rare phenomena.
Then there was my high school graduation night. The bogongs were in my prawn ****tail.
The ABC story says that numbers are down by 98% to 99%, but that's the difference between a plague and a normal population.
-- Edited by dorian on Friday 10th of December 2021 08:56:22 AM
They had been gorging on moths.
So the explorers climbed up and saw the moths stacked 10 deep under overhangs.
Apparently they are very rich and loaded with goodness.
Ill stick to weetbix for now
I guess it would be 15 years past when I was camped high up on a river in east Gippsland deep in the forest and probably the only light (Coleman pressure lamp) for a 50km radius when the Bogong moths attacked! :)
I was cooking a chilli in a wide saucepan and, eventually, gave up trying to pick the moths out of the food. Knowing the Aborigines use to feed on them I decided they could not be so bad and, thus, stirred them into the chilli and ate it. I live to tell the tale :)
However... next morning the Coleman lamp was almost full of moths.
I remember riding my motorbike from Sydney to Nowra. Somewhere along the way the Bogons were blown off course over to the coast.
My bike, leathers and helmet were all splattered with the Bogons. I had to stop every few kilometres to wipe my visor clean so that I could see.
Apparently the Bogons are going extinct because they aren't getting to their breeding grounds in the mountains. They are distracted by the bright lights of the towns and cities on the route from up North. Canberra is one of the main distractions.
The mice plague appears to be over, but the locust plague is just starting:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-15/fears-locust-plague-on-the-horizon-for-nsw-murray-region/100702028
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-16/the-nsw-mouse-plague-appears-to-be-over/100690972
Just like the Bogong moths, I also find Canberra an annoying distraction. Mainly due to the rubbish put out by our so called leaders
Parliament house contains those 'distractions' but most fly in from the rest of Australia to make policies that ruin the rest of our lives.
I hope you just mean Parliament House. I wouldn't mind the 'bugs' in Parliament House being moth balled.
There are a lot of nice things in the rest of Canberra: War Memorial, Questacon, Old Parliament House, National Portrait Gallery, National Art Gallery, etcetera.
Yes, just referring to Parliament House. Have a great New Year Cobber.