• Yes, the peppered moth is an example of natural selection, but that is not to damn it with faint praise. Natural selection is a key element of the theory of evolution which creationists seek ...

Jonathan Wells is a Senior Fellow at the Seattle-based Discovery Institute and the author of “Second Thoughts About Peppered Moths” (The Scientist, 1999) and Icons of Evolution (Regnery, 2000).

The typical f. betularia is usually white speckled with varying degrees of black. There is an all-black form, f. carbonaria, and an intermediate form, f. insularia, which is, surprisingly, not ...

The peppered moths became a classic example of how environmental change drives species evolution. But in recent years, scientists have begun thinking about the inverse process.

Between 1848 and 1900—enough time for more than 50 moth generations—the once-rare dark peppered moth became common. Only in rural regions not impacted by soot was the light-peppered moth still ...

The peppered moths became a classic example of how environmental change drives species evolution. But in recent years, scientists have begun thinking about the inverse process.

For decades, Britain’s peppered moth has been the textbook example of how humans can rapidly drive evolution in another species. New textbooks might want to use a New Zealand stonefly instead. The ...

The peppered moth is also a notable example of an animal that has adapted to environmental changes. Before its evolution, the moth’s lighter colors predominantly gave it camouflage against trees.

Iconic examples include the rapid increase in frequency of the melanic form of the British peppered moth Biston betularia, driven by the sootier and darker environment caused by carbon burning and ...

I n the September/October issue of Books & Culture, Jonathan Wells reviewed Judith Hooper’s book, Of Moths and Men, a critical account of the notorious peppered moth experiments.

Until now, the peppered moth was the “classic” example of human-driven evolution. Dark-coloured specimens of the moth suddenly appeared during the 19th century.

Genetic mutation in the DNA of a single moth means that the mutated gene is passed to all its siblings, and as moths have a very short life cycle, this example of evolution happened very quickly — ...