Immune defence, a possible nonvisual selective factor behind the industrial melanism of moths (Lepidoptera)

Abstract

It is generally believed that industrial melanism in Lepidoptera is mainly caused by differential predation by birds. In polluted areas, melanic individuals are favoured by natural selection because they are better camouflaged than pale moths on lichen-free and sooty tree trunks. In this article, we show that, in the black arches moth (Lymantria monacha), melanic morphs have a stronger encapsulation response than pale morphs against nylon monofilament implants. This indicates that the melanic and pale morphs differ in the strength of their immune defence. The same chemical precursors and their end product, melanin pigment, are involved in the encapsulation response and in the external coloration. Thus, it seems that there may be two possible, not mutually exclusive, explanations for the frequency changes observed in the industrial melanism of moths. The dominant gene causes an increase in the amount of melanin pigment and its precursors. This increase causes two changes: an intensified immune defence as a form of improved encapsulation ability of foreign objects, and the well-known protective dark coloration (a case of relational pleiotropy). It seems possible that industrial melanism is a by-product of selection on the strength of immunity. In the field, these pleiotropic aspects are exceedingly difficult to distinguish from each other, and the factors may even be compensatory.