Monday, 14 October 2019

Cowzebras?

Painting cows with zebra stripes reduces the attacks by biting flies by 50% and seems a good alternative to using insecticides (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/11/if-the-shoo-fits-cows-painted-with-zebra-stripes-keep-flies-in-line). This work, of course, reflects attempts to determine WHY zebras have stripes. Rather than being a device to blend into the background, it appears that the pattern interrupts the motion detection systems of flying ectoparasites, making landing more difficult. Perhaps the breeders will be able to come up with striped cows, negating the need to paint?

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Sandwich Island Saga 62. Wind turbines and birds

Research in Norway has revealed that painting one blade of a wind turbine black, greatly reduces the number of bird collisions. ...