noun
peppered moth
Refers specifically to the peppered moth (Biston betularia), a well-known species in evolutionary biology. The name is a compound of descriptive elements: 大 (large), 霜降 (frosted/mottled), 枝 (branch), 尺 (measuring worm/inchworm).
おおしもふりえだしゃくは工業暗化の例として有名だ。
The peppered moth is famous as an example of industrial melanism.
この蛾はおおしもふりえだしゃくと呼ばれている。
This moth is called the peppered moth.
The Japanese name is a compound of 大 (ō, 'large'), 霜降 (shimofuri, 'mottled with white spots', literally 'frost-falling'), 枝 (eda, 'branch'), and 尺 (shaku, 'measuring worm/inchworm'), describing the moth's appearance and larval form. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.