Study
On the selective forces acting in the industrial melanism of Biston and Oligia moths
Mikkola, Kauri
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 1984
Offered peppered moths a choice of resting surfaces in a large cage and recorded where they settled, testing the assumption that the species rests on exposed tree trunks.
- Studied in
- Biston betularia
- Sample size
- moths observed choosing resting sites in a cage
Moths overwhelmingly chose to rest on the undersides of branches rather than on exposed trunks, indicating that the resting position used in the classic experiments was not the natural one.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Experiments that placed moths on trunks were not reproducing the situation in which selection actually operates.
How NatureHQ reads it
The most substantive of the criticisms, and the reason the peppered moth story needed redoing rather than merely defending. It does not show the conclusion was wrong; it shows the experiment did not test it under the right conditions, which is a different and more interesting problem.
- Cage conditions, which constrain choice and may not reproduce what a moth does in a wood at dawn.
- Establishes where moths prefer to rest, not what predation does to them there.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: University press journalsPublished in a university press journal.
doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1984.tb01602.x
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.