Butterfly wing patterns in flight create powerful illusory motion cues

Butterflies are incredibly evasive insects, with no predators that specialize in hunting them as they fly. Why this is has been a bit of a mystery, but now new research suggests that the patterns on their wings create optical illusions to mislead predators. This finding not only explains butterflies nimble dodging but may also help researchers understand why many animals have stripes and patterns.

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