Why do Peppered Moths change colors over time in order to blend in with their changing environments?
Answer Andre, Peppered moths have two common phenotypes (appearances), 1. light bodied, and 2. dark bodied. Before the English industrial revolution white moths were very common. These moths were likely to survive to a reproductive age because their light bodies blended in with lightly colored lichens that covered the trees in England. This put black moths to a disadvantage. When the industrial revolution produced a large amount of a poisonous gas (SO2) most of the white lichens that covered the trees died. The black moths were suddenly to an advantage because now they blended in with the dark bark on trees. While the trees remained dark the black moths were at a reproductive advantage, and produced many black offspring. Black moths soon became much more plentiful than white moths. After laws were passed to clean up the air in England lichens thrived again, and white returned to the most common color for peppered moths. To fully understand why these changes occurred we must look into g
