Butterflies use optical illusions to dodge predators

Automated excerpt

It helps solve a long-standing puzzle - butterflies have striking patterns that make them stand out, yet remarkably few predators specialise in catching them mid-flight. They then looked at the patterns of around 400 European butterflies and found that motion illusion patterns are widespread. To test how patterns affected real attacks, 100 volunteers acted as “predators”, trying to catch virtual butterflies on a touchscreen.

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