ICYMI: These Moths Navigate Using Stars in the Night Sky

Bogong moths use the night sky as one of several key navigational tools which help complete a 600-mile journey twice a year.

Eric Warrant

After reaching adulthood each spring, bogong moths embark on a more than 600-mile journey across Australia. They fly to mountainous caves in the country’s southeast to shelter from the summer heat before retracing their steps in the fall to breed on their original grounds. Researchers seeking to understand how the insects pull off this navigational feat confirmed bogong moths use the night sky as a kind of star-studded map, making them the only known invertebrates to do so. 

To study this phenomenon, the international team of scientists enclosed moths in a box and deactivated the influence of the planet’s magnetic field, which is known to influence their flight path. Researchers then projected images of a starry sky and recorded the bogongs’ movements. When the projection matched what the moths would see on their real-world journey, they oriented themselves in the direction that would take them to their migration destination. When researchers rotated this projection, the moths adjusted their position accordingly. Moths also became disoriented when presented with a fragmented, irregular star pattern.

Big Picture: Using intracellular probes, researchers identified which neurons in the bogong moths’ brains were active as they viewed and positioned themselves under the starry sky. They discovered specific neurons fired as the moths responded to accurate images of the stars and simulations resembling the Milky Way. A sensory biologist involved with the study told Science his team believes the moths are born with a basic map of the night sky etched into their brains. These creatures are endangered due to myriad existential threats, including climate change. Bogong moths are also burdened by light pollution, which disrupts their ability to perceive crucial celestial cues. But another researcher on the team told NBC News their new finding could help advise efforts to reduce light pollution and ensure these moths have a clearer view of the stars.

Read More: Bogong moths appear to use stars to navigate 600-mile journey, a first for insects. NBC News

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About the Author

Bella Isaacs-Thomas

Bella is the Staff Writer and Editor for BrainFacts. She previously worked as a digital science reporter at PBS NewsHour, where she was named a fellow in the 2022-2023 class of the National Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellowships (SHERF) and earned a 2021 D.C. Science Writers Association Newsbrief Award for writing. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in 2018.