“Decades ago, spring in Australia meant lifting a towel or opening a curtain to a surprised moth or two fluttering out, as billions of bogong moths migrated across vast swaths of the country’s southeast.

But since the 1980s, the bogong moth population has declined drastically because of the increased use of insecticides, habitat destruction and the proliferation of artificial lighting. Bad droughts in 2017 and 2018 reduced the insect’s population by about 99.5 percent. Many Australians were left wondering whether the moths would ever return.

This year, the swarms are back and scientists are rejoicing…

Since the start of September, the Moth Tracker team has received 4,000 submissions. They have analyzed more than 1,850 of those, confirming more than 1,600 as bogong moths.

In 2024, which Dr. Parrott said was the previous best year on record, there were more than 1,950 submissions with 1,089 verified bogong moths.”

From New York Times.