Articles

The Peppered Moth

by Anonymous

The peppered moth (Biston betuJaria), commonly found in England, has gained fame over the years as a classic example of natural selection. Many books use this moth as evidence of evolution in action.

Before the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, most moths of this species were light colored with irregular black speckles and lines, although dark individuals were occasionally seen. The light ones blended well with the lichen-covered bark of trees, while' the dark variety was quite conspicuous. By 1895, after the industrial areas had become blackened with soot and the lichens died off, the dark form of the moth had become more plentiful than the light form.

This phenomenon was studied by Kettlewell, of Oxford University. He found that survival did seem to be color-dependent: more light moths were eaten by birds in areas where the tree bark was dark and vice versa. The conclusion. usually drawn from his observations is that this will lead to a shift in the gene frequency which is reflected in the coloration of the overall population. This is considered to be classic evidence of natural selection, though there is some evidence that habitat choice may be involved to some extent. The lighter moths may have migrated to where they could better hide or blend in.

The color variation in the peppered moth might be termed micro-evolution, but it really does not give any evidence as to how macro-evolution can occur. After all, the moths are still moths, and in fact no new forms have ever been observed -- both the light and the dark forms were around before as well as after the Industrial Revolution -- it is simply the relative numbers which have changed.

To really demonstrate a mechanism by which onecelled creatures could eventually become people, it would be necessary to document a mechanism which could generate all the necessary genetic information from scratch. Natural selection. cannot do this.

Therefore, although the peppered moth is an interesting example of variation in response to changes in the environment, it really does not fit the bill as evidence for evolution. It is, however, an example of variation within an originally created kind.

Source: Alpha Omega Institute http://www.discovercreation.org/