A recent scientific study has shown that the Bogong moth, a night-flying insect in Australia, uses the stars to guide its migration. Every year, when the weather becomes warmer, the moths fly about 1,000 kilometers to cooler mountain caves in the Australian Alps. They travel only at night and later return to their original location to reproduce and complete their life cycle. This is the first time that an invertebrate has been scientifically proven to use stars for long-distance travel. The results were published in the well-known science journal Nature.

To understand how the moths navigate, researchers used a flight simulator that showed a realistic night sky. They also blocked the Earth’s magnetic field to focus only on how the moths react to the stars. When the sky in the simulator matched the real night sky, the moths were able to fly in the correct direction. But when the stars were scrambled, they became confused. Scientists also observed changes in the moths’ brain activity in response to certain star patterns. The exact star signals used are still unknown, but researchers believe that bright objects like the Milky Way may help. This study shows that even insects with small brains have complex navigation abilities. It also helps scientists understand how simple animals can use natural signs to travel long distances.