"Traditional bodypaintings with their typical white-striped patterns on a brown body surface have the advantage of deterring blood-sucking horseflies as these patterns are unattractive to these parasitic insects," the authors wrote in the journal Royal Society Open Science.īites from horseflies and other pests can be dangerous as well as irritating, as they suck a host's blood, transmitting diseases such as the potentially deadly swamp fever.īecause of their need to lay their larvae in ponds and lakes, they often come into contact with indigenous people seeking reliable water sources. The team behind the study believe that the stripes disrupt the polarisation of light reflected off human bodies, making them less delicious-looking to horseflies and other bugs. Scientists believe the striped patterns make dark-skinned people less visually attractive to horseflies and other biting insects The results were startling: the dark-skinned mannequin was 10 times more attractive to horseflies than the striped model and twice as attractive than the light-skinned dummy. They then stuck them in the middle of a meadow for eight weeks in summer, and counted the number of horseflies and other biting insects each one attracted. They used three shop mannequins-one with dark skin, one with lighter skin, and a dark-skinned model painted with white stripes-and coated each with a thin layer of adhesive to capture creepy crawlies. It is known that zebras get bitten far less than animals with a single fur colour, so a team of researchers decided to see if the light stripes painted on humans would have a similar deterrent effect. Traditionally mixed from clay, chalk, ash and cattle dung, the white or grey paint is widely thought to help individuals moderate body heat in soaring bush and savanna temperatures.īut scientists now believe that the striking striped patterns also slash the amount of biting insects attracted to the naked flesh of people living in Nature.
Tribes in Africa, Australia and southeast Asia have practiced bodypainting in cultural ceremonies for generations.
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