Peppered Moth

Very pleased to catch a Peppered Moth in my light trap last night as it was very much part of my biology teaching through the years. When first studied 200 years ago, all moths were like this one, pale and speckled and so hidden from predators on lichen-covered branches. With Industrialisation, lichens died out and trunks were generally soot covered. This led to the selection of the naturally occurring dark forms and predation of the light forms. The melanistic form predominated up to the second half of the 20th Century.

With the advent of smoke-free zones and the loss of heavy polluting industry, the light form is now reestablished.