why are they called "peppered moths?
because their light wings are "peppered" with small dark spots
what animals eat the peppered moths?
flycatchers, nuthatches, and the European robin
what is a lichen?
small fungi that lives on trees
what do the larvae of the moths eat?
leaves of birch, willow, and oak trees
how do peppered moths spend the winter?
they change into pupae
moths that have more dark spots than the average moth are called what?
insularia
where was the first black form of the moth found?
near the center of Manchester
what was the Industrial Revolution?
the time period in history when factories were being built and ran by burning coal for fuel
what was causing the different colors in the moths?
a genetic mutation in the DNA that was passed down to the offspring
what is natural selection?
when one type of species has an advantage because of the environment
who suggested that peppered moths were and example of natural selection?
J.W. Tutt
what is industrial melanism?
process by which species darken over time in polluted forests
what is an entomologist?
a scientist that studies insects
how do scientists test theories?
by making predictions based on the theory and then testing the predictions to see if their observation matches the expectation
what is one of Kettlewell's predictions?
clean forests will have mostly light peppered moths
dark moths were found in what part of the country?
industrial cities producing pollution
how did Kettlewell directly study the moths?
he placed light and dark moths on tree trunks and recorded the times it took for the bird to find the moths
why did dark moths have a survival advantage?
then blended in with the dark tree trunks while the light moths stood out
when Kettlewell recaptured the marked moths, what did he find?
there were twice as many light moths in the clean forests than dark moths and twice as many dark moths in polluted forests than light moths
where did Kettlewell publish his findings?
Scientific American
how did the color of the moths increase or decrease their chance of survival?
in a light environment, the dark moth population decreases because they are easier to see and vice versa
how is the concept of "natural selection" used in the moths?
the light moths were eaten in the dark forests because they didn't blend in and vice versa