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Peppered Moth
Graphite
11 x 14"
2021
The Story of the Peppered Moth
At the beginning of the nineteenth century industrial revolution, white spotted peppered moths began to be replaced in number by their black-winged counterparts in urban areas.
Peppered moths avoid predators buy camouflaging themselves in tree lichen, so as factory pollution killed the lichens, and soot covered the tree trunks, the white moths became very visible to predators such as sparrows. Because of their darker wings, the melanic moths were able to camouflage themselves better in the changing environment.
The peppered moth case became an example of natural selection, and the spotted peppered moth population decline was later reversed with the Clean Air Acts in the 1950s.
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