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That moth story reminds me of strain improvement programs that occur all the time, all around the world.
You take a bunch of bacteria that manufactures something you want, like an antibiotic.
You start irradiating some, and spraying chemicals on others, until you end up with a strain that produces even more of the antibotic you like. Then you breed those bacteria. And do the same with them.
Pretty soon, after several generations, you have a mutant of the original bacteria that has been artificially selected to produce huge quantities of your antibiotic.
Sure, this process is artificial, but the bacteria don't know that. They are reacting in exactly the same way that they would if they were naturally selected. It's evolution in a petri dish, and it's real. Just ask the multibillion dollar corporations that do it every day.
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