Missing Moths and Camouflage

Camouflage• Camouflage is an animal’s ability to blend into an

environment• It can be used for defensive or offensive purposes• Decide which picture below is defensive or offensive

camouflage.

Reasons for Defensive Camouflage• A rabbit, other animal, or insect will use it to hide from predators.• Examples include: the dead leaf butterfly whose wings look like a dead leaf;

the arctic fox who goes through seasonal fur changes to blend into it’s environment for protection; and the cottontail rabbit who easily blends into his surroundings.

Reasons for Offensive Camouflage

• Some animals or insects use it to hide from their prey until they are close enough to attack.

• Examples of defensive camouflage include: a cheetah or a lion

More examples of camouflage• Can you find the animals or insects hiding?

Missing Moths (Peppered Moths)• The large majority of the peppered moth

population before the Industrial Revolution in England(around 1850) were light colored.

• As a result of the many industries burning fuel, local vegetation became darker because of the air pollution.

• The population of the moths began to change with the number of dark moths increasing while the light colored moths’ population decreased.

• Most recently, as industries try to use cleaner fuels and cause less population, the bark of trees began to lighten again and the population of the light colored moths began increasing.