Thousands of moths have invaded Winton in western Queensland, feasting on fresh grass that sprouted from recent rainfall.

Winton resident Frank Standfast was on his way to work early on Wednesday morning when he discovered the swarm under a light post in front of the hardware store.

Mr Standfast said he had never seen anything like it.

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Moths swarm on a post on a building in Winton. Photo: ABC/Frank Standfast

“I’ve never seen it that thick, but it was obviously under a pretty bright street light – we presume because there’s actually some green grass here,” he said.

“It hasn’t rained here for a week or two, but now we’ve got some grass we seem to have a heap of moths.”

He said council workers spent hours trying to clean them up.

Mr Standfast said the town’s baker, whose shop is across the road from the hardware store, said the swarm looked like a “cloud”.

“[The baker] comes to work at like two o’clock in the morning and he didn’t know what it was when he come to work,” he said.

“In the light it was just like a cloud – he thought it was like a haze or something, he reckons.

“It was when they were all still flying because it was dark.”

-ABC