Scientists painted black cows with white stripes to test whether zebra markings deter biting flies — and the painted cows drew 50 per cent fewer flies, adding weight to the theory that zebras evolved their colouring not for camouflage or heat, but as a living insect repellent

Scientists painted black cows with white stripes to test whether zebra markings deter biting flies — and the painted cows drew 50 per cent fewer flies, adding weight to the theory that zebras evolved their colouring not for camouflage or heat, but as a living insect repellent

Researchers in central Japan painted plain black cows with white stripes, stood them in a pasture, and photographed the flies that landed on them. The striped cows drew about half as many biting flies as the same animals left unpainted. Published in PLOS ONE in October 2019 by Tomoki Kojima and colleagues at the Aichi Agricultural Research Center and Kyoto University, the result does not settle the zebra question on its own. What it does is add …