SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

INSECTS

Bogong moth joins 124 new Australian species on red list

The Australian bogong has been listed as endangered on the global red list of threatened species after crashes in its population. The updated list, compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, contains 124 new entries for Australian wildlife. In 2017 and 2018 the moth, famously seen in swarms at Parliament House in Canberra during its annual migration, crashed to numbers so low the species was described as “undetectable” in the alpine regions where it used to arrive in spring in numbers as high as 4.4bn. Australia’s drought through 2017, 2018 and 2019 was likely the largest contributor, said ecologist, Ken Green, who has been monitoring bogong moths for 40 years.