*** Welcome to piglix ***

Peppered moths

Peppered moth
Biston betularia male.jpg
male
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Clade: Euarthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Geometridae
Genus: Biston
Species: B. betularia
Binomial name
Biston betularia
Linnaeus, 1758
Subspecies
  • B. b. betularia
  • B. b. cognataria (Guenée, 1857)
  • B. b. contrasta (Barnes & Benjamin, 1923)
  • B. b. parva Leech, 1897
  • B. b. nepalensis Inoue, 1982
Synonyms
  • Phalaena (Geometra) betularia Linnaeus, 1758
  • Phalaena (Noctua) p-graecum Poda, 1761
  • marmoraria Sepp, 1792
  • Phalaena (Geometra) ulmaria Borkhausen, 1794
  • Eubyja betularia
  • Amphidasis huberaria Ballion, 1866
  • Amphidasys betularia var. doubledayaria Millière, 1870
  • Eurbyjodonta concinna Warren, 1899
  • Biston cognataria alexandrina Wehrli, 1941
  • Biston (Eubyjodonta) huberaria tienschana Wehrli, 1941
  • Biston cognataria sinitibetica Wehrli, 1941

The peppered moth (Biston betularia) is a temperate species of night-flying moth.Peppered moth evolution is an example of population genetics and natural selection.

The wingspan is 55mm. median (45–62 mm.) It is relatively stout-bodied, with forewings relatively narrow-elongate. The wings are white, "peppered" with black, and with more or less distinct cross lines, also black. The black speckling varies in amount, in some examples it is almost absent, whilst in others it is so dense that the wings appear to be black sprinkled with white. The antennae of males are strongly bipectinate.

Biston betularia is found in China (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Fujian, Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet), Russia, Mongolia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Europe and North America.

In Great Britain and Ireland, the peppered moth is univoltine (i.e., it has one generation per year), whilst in south-eastern North America it is bivoltine (two generations per year). The lepidopteran life cycle consists of four stages: ova (eggs), several larval instars (caterpillars), pupae, which overwinter live in the soil, and imagines (adults). During the day, the moths typically rest on trees, where they are preyed on by birds.


...
Wikipedia

...