The peppered moth was the most diagrammatic example of the phenomenon of industrial melanism that came to be recognised in industrial and smoke-blackened parts of England in the mid-nineteenth century ...

The color of an animal can determine whether it lives or dies. If it’s easily spotted by predators, it may well become a meal. Hidden nicely against its background, an animal can escape its enemies ...

Katie has a PhD in maths, specializing in the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory. She reports on topics from maths and history to society and animals. Katie has a PhD in maths, ...

Open almost any textbook dealing with biological evolution and you’ll probably find photographs of peppered moths resting on tree trunks—illustrating the classic story of natural selection in action.