Darwin and Moths

Question

Conduct an internet search by using the terms Darwin and Moths ("Darwin Moths", without the quotes). Learn about this famous illustration of Darwin's theory of natural selection, and write a brief paragraph describing it.

Answer 1

Darwin’s theory of natural selection talks about how various species evolve. Darwin suggests that species preserve the traits which are useful with respect to the environment they are living in. The species evolve in such a way that there are slight variations in the traits which help them to survive better. These traits eventually lead to evolving of new species in itself when it happens over a long period of time. This theory has a famous example of the peppered moth which has been a subject of study and interest especially in the last 200 years. Research shows that earlier species of the peppered moth were light in colour through which they camouflaged themselves against light coloured trees etc. After the industrial revolution, due to increasing pollution levels these trees etc started becoming dark because of blackening by industrial soot due to which the peppered moths started becoming easy prey for their predators. Over a period of time the number of light coloured moths decreased and the dark coloured ones started flourishing which is a clear example of Darwin's theory of natural selection.