Peppered moth

Peppered moth
	Male
	Female
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Biston
Species:	B. betularia
Binomial name
	Biston betularia; Linnaeus, 1758
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]

^ 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.
^ Gishlick, Alan (23 November 2006). "Icon 6 — Peppered Moths". National Center for Science Education. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
^ 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.

[urlbsgran.people.wm.edu-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.

[Icon6NCSE-2] Gishlick, Alan (23 November 2006). "Icon 6 — Peppered Moths". National Center for Science Education. Retrieved 19 December 2009.

[Eacock-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.

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Peppered moth

Male

Female
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Geometridae
Genus:	Biston
Species:	B. betularia
Binomial name
*Biston betularia* Linnaeus, 1758
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)