Discover the mysteries of moths' behaviour and ecology, not covered in the standard field guides.

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Product Description

Another volume in the "New Naturalist" series, this book is a comprehensive account of the diverse natural history of these fascinating and popular insects. Michael Majerus, author of the "New Naturalist" book "Ladybirds", examines all aspects of moths, from their life histories to their role as pests to humans. He covers their reproduction, feeding, evolution, habitats and conservation. The book also discusses the enemies of moths, and the ways they have evolved to avoid detection, including camouflage, warning colouration, and mimicry.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #633346 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-04
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

About the Author
Michael Majerus is a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and teaches undergraduates about evolution and natural history at the Department of Genetics. He has had a passionate interest in insects, particularly butterflies and moths, since the age of four. He is excellent at popularising science, and is the author of the popular New Naturalist Ladybirds.

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Customer Reviews

Moths in context
The great thing about this book is that it gives a thorough overview of all the aspects of moths -- reproduction, ecology, behavior (Why do moths fly into lights? Good question! Majerus says he is unsatisfied with the explanations proposed thus far...), etc.

Of particular interest is his updating of the peppered moth case; he spends a chapter repeating his previous critical analysis of the topic (in "Industrial Melanism", 1998), but emphasizing even more strongly than previously that Kettlewell's basic hypothesis -- that natural selection in the form of differential bird predation against backgrounds changing under the influence of air pollution is the major cause of the change in melanic frequencies in peppered moths -- remains strong, indeed it is stronger than it was in Kettlewell's day.

Majerus cites a long list of experts in support, and concludes the chapter arguing that those proclaiming the example in serious trouble or overthrown have no significant experience with the moth in the wild and have done no significant experimental work on the question. He compares Kettlewell to Newton -- both scientists that made huge advances and who got things correct to a significant degree of precision, but (like most scientists) whose work has been revised and extended by later scientists.

This strong defense may be surprising to those who get their science news from the popular media, where people like antievolutionist Jonathan Wells and journalist Judith Hooper thought they smelled blood and rushed to condemn the Darwinian establishment for believing Kettlewell (they do not, however, attempt to propose any ideas that fit the data better).

But as I said at the beginning, seeing moths in their larger context is the most important part of this book. The book does however focus on English moths, so the relevance will be limited elsewhere. Realizing that peppered moths are only one of hundreds of species of moths in England, sharing a great many patterns with other moths (including industrial melanism to varying degrees), is a crucial bit of background to regulate speculation on causes of genetic changes. Attempting (as Hooper and Wells do) to critique the peppered moth case without the background knowledge shared by the experts is part of their problem, leading to suggestions that (for example) thermal melanism for sunlight absorption (but peppered moths are night-active) or differential predation by bats (which hunt at night by sonar) might account for the changes in color of the peppered moth population. Kettlewell never made this isolationist mistake.