Question

Suppose a species of nontoxic caterpillar has green individuals and orange individuals, and this coloration is controlled by a single gene. Suppose you looked at a population feeding on green peppers. What would happen to the numbers of green individuals vs. the numbers of orange individuals in the future generations? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

There would be a decrease in the number of green individuals as compared to the number of orange individuals. This is because, if a population would be feeding on green peppers solely, and the non toxic green caterpillars would be camouflaged with the green peppers, ultimately resulting in being consumed along with the peppers, resulting in their decrease in number.

If the green caterpillar were toxic and the species consumed the green peppers, it would lead to a decrease in the number of the species consuming green peppers, eventually, letting the popular grow at its own pace

An example of this could be seen through the evolutnion of peppered moth, which was observed in the industrial revolution period, where, there was an increase in the frequency of the dark coloured moths. This process of referred to as industrial Melanism.