Posted: Dec 27, 2010 8:54 pm
Passer wrote:Concerning evolution, how does it explain the bug that changes itself to look like a leaf? Does it explain it the same way as other forms of life? I've heard tell of a butterfly or more probably a moth, I can't quite remember now, but it evolved into two different types. One type, because it spends its time mostly in rural areas, is white in colour, but the other type, because it spends most of its time in and around a dirty industrialised area, is more grey in its colouring.
But the bug resembling a leaf seems a bit of a stretch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppered_moth_evolution
The peppered moth study provides an example of natural selection through predation and camouflage. The observed shift in colouration happened over just a few generations. Leaf-shaped insects are the same principle over many, many more generations.
There are thousands of examples, some well known ones here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimicry
If you don't think natural selection can produce mimicry, can you suggest an alternative?