The Fly Test
Scientists did a fun experiment. They painted some horses with black and white stripes, just like zebras. Other horses were left alone. Guess what happened? Fewer flies landed on the striped horses. It looks like the crazy pattern confuses the fly’s eyes when it tries to land.
Why Not Just White?
You might ask why zebras are not just plain white. Plain white animals get hot in the sun. Some scientists think the black stripes absorb heat while the white stripes stay cool. This creates tiny breezes along the zebra’s body that help keep them cool. So, your stripes do two jobs: they stop bugs from eating you and they act like a personal air conditioner.
Examples
- A horse painted with black and white stripes stands in a field while flies buzz around it but refuse to land.
- Two zebras stand close together, and you can tell them apart because their stripe patterns are different like fingerprints.
- On a hot day, the sun hits a zebra's back, creating tiny breezes between the dark and light stripes to keep its skin cool.
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See also
- Why Do Some Animals Have Stripes?
- What is Biological evolution?
- What are invasive species?
- How Do Ghost Towns Reclaim Themselves?
- What is Tropical rainforest?