Every year thousands of bogong moths pour into the ACT as part of their annual migration, flooding into people's living rooms, work places and even the nation's parliament.
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But in 2014, numbers have more than halved, bringing welcome relief to the capital.
NSW Environment and Heritage senior threatened species officer Lindy Broome said there were certainly less bogong moths migrating to the ACT in 2014, after a bumper crop in the past year.
She was doing counts on the moth populations around Canberra on Thursday as part of an ongoing survey, which is in its 29th year.
"In 2013 we were getting maybe 2000 or 3000 bogong moths in a bucket, but now we're getting 800 to 1000. It is a bit weather dependent, but there is less this year compared to last year," Dr Broome said.
In previous years, the swarms of moths pouring into Parliament House have clogged the building, setting off fire alarms and requiring special vacuum cleaners to remove them.
Dr Broome said due to the severe drought in NSW and Queensland less moths had bred this year resulting in declining numbers of bogongs in the territory.
"They spend their winters out on the plains and they breed and then, in spring, they fly to the mountains to spend their summer [there]. So it depends on the conditions of their breeding grounds how many are produced each year," she said.
CSIRO honorary fellow Ted Edwards said the reason bogong moths were often drawn to Parliament House in the late spring months was the large number of lights left on in the early hours of the morning.
He said the number of bogong moths which migrated to the ACT were fairly variable and he hadn't noticed a large increase or decrease.
