A Moth Story

The science of a moth’s life, edited into a story of sorts.

“Briefly, the moth has several genetic forms, the most famous being the “typica” or white form, which is ivory colored with peppery black spots.”

“And the carbonaria form, which is pure black.”

“These forms differ by mutations at a single gene, with the carbonaria allele (gene form) dominant over the typica form. ”

“During industrialization in 19th-century England, the black form increased from very low frequencies to nearly 100% in some locations, with the most polluted woods having the highest frequency of the black form.”