Which British moth became a classic example of industrial melanism?

The peppered moth became a classic example of industrial melanism. In Britain, dark forms became more common in polluted industrial regions where soot darkened tree trunks and reduced lichen cover.

The species, Biston betularia, usually has pale, speckled wings that help it blend with lichen-covered bark. A darker form called carbonaria was easier for bird predators to detect on pale bark but better camouflaged on soot-darkened surfaces. As pollution declined in the twentieth century, pale forms increased again in many areas.

The story is often simplified into a single before-and-after experiment, but field studies, laboratory work, and later genetic research all contributed to understanding it. The peppered moth example illustrates natural selection because inherited color differences affected survival in changing environments; it does not mean individual moths changed color because they tried to adapt.