Author: MICHELLE STARR / Source: ScienceAlert
We know that many of the traits we see in animals are there because they evolved by somehow being useful to the species. But evolution is messy, and the supposed benefits of weird features aren’t always obvious. Take zebra stripes, for example.
The stark black and white garb of the three zebra species roaming Africa has been a biological puzzle for decades, with several competing hypotheses.
Now researchers have added a new data point – and all it took was playing dress-ups with some horses.Okay, there was more science than that. But the team’s results showed that the stripes somehow prevent flies from landing – keeping zebras relatively safe from the annoying insect bites.
It’s not a new idea. Scientists have known for years that fewer flies land on zebras. A 2012 study even found that the light and dark stripes together could reflect polarised light in a way that deters flying insects.
We’re still not entirely sure of the exact mechanism, but scientists from the US and the UK have narrowed it down. They have found that flies land on horses over three times as often as they land on zebras, because the stripes apparently confuse the insects and diminish their ability to control their flight.
The team spent several hours observing both horses and zebras to record the number of blood-sucking horse flies (tabanids) buzzing around, approaching, and landing on the animals.
Then, to make sure there wasn’t something inherent about…
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