Peppered moth

This article is about the insect. For the Margaret Drabble novel, see The Peppered Moth.

Peppered moth
Male
Female
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Biston
Species:
B. betularia
Binomial name
Biston betularia
Subspecies
  • B. b. alexandrina (Wehrli, 1941)
  • B. b. betularia
  • B. b. cognataria (Guenée, 1857)
  • B. b. contrasta (Barnes & Benjamin, 1923)
  • B. b. parva (Leech, 1897)
  • B. b. nepalensis (Inoue, 1982)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena (Geometra) betularia Linnaeus, 1758
  • Phalaena (Noctua) p-graecum (Poda, 1761)
  • marmoraria (Sepp, 1792)
  • Phalaena (Geometra) ulmaria (Borkhausen, 1794)
  • Eubyja betularia
  • Amphidasis huberaria (Ballion, 1866)
  • Amphidasys betularia var. doubledayaria (Millière, 1870)
  • Eurbyjodonta concinna (Warren, 1899)
  • Biston cognataria alexandrina (Wehrli, 1941)
  • Biston (Eubyjodonta) huberaria (tienschana Wehrli, 1941)
  • Biston cognataria sinitibetica (Wehrli, 1941)

The peppered moth (Biston betularia) is a temperate species of night-flying moth.[1] It is mostly found in the northern hemisphere in places like Asia, Europe and North America. Peppered moth evolution is an example of population genetics and natural selection.[2]

The caterpillars of the peppered moth not only mimic the form but also the colour of a twig. Recent research indicates that the caterpillars can sense the twig's colour with their skin and match their body colour to the background to protect themselves from predators.[3]

  1. ^ Grant, Bruce S. (1999). "Fine tuning the peppered moth paradigm: Reviewed Work: 'Melanism: Evolution in Action' by Michael E. N. Majerus". Evolution. 53 (3): 980–984. doi:10.2307/2640740. JSTOR 2640740.
  2. ^ Gishlick, Alan (23 November 2006). "Icon 6 — Peppered Moths". National Center for Science Education. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  3. ^ Eacock, A.; Rowland, H. R.; van’t Hof, A. E.; Yung, C.; Edmonds, N.; Saccheri, I. J. (August 2019). "Caterpillars of the peppered moth perceive color through their skin to match their body color to the background". Retrieved 2 August 2019.