Page 192 - Once Upon a Time There Was Darwinism

iston betularia, a moth species of the family
Geometridae, is perhaps one of the most cele-
brated species of the insect world, and its fame is
due to the fact that it was the main so-called "ob-
served example" of evolution since Darwin.
There are two known variants of Biston betularia. The
widespread light-colored type called Biston betularia f. typica

is a light gray color, with small dark spots that lends it its
common name, "the peppered moth." In the mid-19th cen-
tury, a second variant was observed: dark in color, almost
black, it was named Biston betularia carbonaria. The Latin word
carbonaria means coal-colored. The same type is also called
"melanic," which means dark-colored.

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