Hide the Moth

The big ideas

What the levels teach, in grown-up words.

• Camouflage is matching the background. An animal whose color, lightness and pattern match its surroundings is hard to see, so predators pass it by.
• The predator's eyes decide what counts as hidden. Being the bird in the game shows that matching moths really are found last. Camouflage only has to fool the animals that hunt you.
• Pattern matters as much as color. Stripes break up an outline in grass; spots do the same among pebbles. A plain moth of the right color can still be spotted by its shape.
• Natural selection changes a population. In the peppered-moth story, soot from 19th-century factories darkened tree bark in England. Birds ate the light moths that now stood out, dark moths survived and bred, and within decades most moths were dark. When the air got cleaner, the light form returned.
• Some animals change with the seasons. Arctic hares, stoats and ptarmigans grow a white coat for winter and a brown one for summer.
• Standing out can be a strategy too. Poison dart frogs and wasps wear warning colors that predators learn to avoid, and flowers are bright so pollinators can find them.

Try it at home

Quick experiments that match the game.

1. Backyard hide-and-seek. Cut paper moths in several colors and stick them around the garden or a room. Time how long it takes someone to find each one. Which colors were found first?
2. Pattern test. Make two moths the same color, one plain and one striped, and put both on a striped towel. Ask someone which they notice first.
3. Candy natural selection. Scatter mixed candies on a patterned cloth and give a 'predator' ten seconds to grab as many as they can. Count which colors survived.
4. Spot the hiders. On a walk, look for insects on bark, leaves or stones. Notice how many you only see when they move.