Peppered moth

Peppered moth
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animalia
Subkingdom	Bilateria
Branch	Protostomia
Phylum Information
Superphylum	Panarthropoda
Phylum	Arthropoda
Sub-phylum	Mandibulata
Infraphylum	Atelocerata
Class Information
Superclass	Panhexapoda
Class	Insecta
Sub-class	Dicondylia
Infra-class	Pterygota
Order Information
Superorder	Amphiesmenoptera
Order	Lepidoptera
Infraorder	Heteroneura
Family Information
Superfamily	Geometroidea
Family	Geometridae
Sub-family	Ennominae
Genus Information
Genus	Biston
Species Information
Species	B. betularia
Subspecies	B. p. betularia B. p. cognataria B. p. contrasta B. p. fumosaria B. p. nepalensis B. p. parva B. p. vlachi
Population statistics

The peppered moth (Biston betularia) is a species of insect of the family Geometridae, and found throughout much of Europe, Asia, and North America. The moth as found in Great Britain has been subject to repeated experiments and claims of hoaxes regarding the theory of evolution.

Description

The peppered moth is a stout-bodied insect, about one inch in length, with a wingspan of about two inches. Like other moths (and unlike butterflies), the wings are held horizontally when at rest.

The normal coloration is a whitish or light-grey main background color speckled with black, hence the name. This coloration is referred to in scientific papers as typica. A melanistic black form is occasionally found, and is referred to as carbonaria, in part after the soot deposited by factories during the early part of the Industrial Revolution.

Subspecies

• Biston betularia betularia
• Biston betularia cognataria
• Biston betularia contrasta
• Biston betularia fumosaria
• Biston betularia nepalensis
• Biston betularia parva
• Biston betularia vlachi

Life cycle

May to August is the breeding season for peppered moths, with adults on the wing during night hours. Females lay up to 2,000 eggs within the bark of trees, and the emerging young disperse on silk threads via the wind, landing on trees or other plants. They grow into two-inch caterpillars, feeding off the host plant by night; by day they rest motionless, blending in with the plant as a "twig". By September, they migrate to the ground and bury themselves in the soil, entering the pupal stage for the winter and emerging in the spring as an adult moth.