During the peak of industrialization, there was a drastic change in the environment in Europe. Due to increased use of fossil fuels to run machines, the environment in urban centers was black due to soot produced by industries and settled on buildings and the environment. Therefore black moths were able to camouflage in this environment hence evade predators. White moths were, conversely, more conspicuous in this environment hence predated on more. The black moths were, therefore, more likely to pass their genes to the next generation compared to white moths. Hope this helps!
