Background Selections of the Pale and Melanic Forms of the Cryptic Moth, Phigalia titea (Cramer)

Abstract

KETTLEWELL¹ demonstrated that the pale (typical) and melanic (carbonaria) forms of the peppered moth, Biston betularia L., tend to rest on white and black backgrounds respectively, when presented with a choice between the two. I wish to summarize results obtained in a similar experiment, using typical and melanic individuals of the North American geometrid, Phigalia titea.