He situated the locusts just in front of the computer monitor, and then projected a simulated approach of those objects from about 10 meters away to about 0.07 meters from the cowering insects. ![]() To see how the locusts responded to dazzle camouflage, Santer created an array of visual patterns using a graphics software. Locusts are a delectable dinner for countless predators. Whatever the mechanism, as looming objects approach a locust, its detector neuron fires away, alerting the insect to imminent potential danger and triggering it to flee. ![]() Researchers think this neuron works by measuring the shape and movement of patterns of light and dark across the eye. These insects are particularly well suited for vision studies due to something called a single lobula giant movement detector neuron, a unique cell that specializes in detecting looming objects (think of a car speeding towards you, or a hand reaching for your face). To investigate this possibility, biologist Roger Santer of Aberystwyth University in the U.K. Until now, however, researchers hadn't considered the flipside of this relationship: could predators use razzle dazzle to sneak up on prey as they mounted an attack? Like those hidden World War I ships, many creatures seem to use dazzle patterns to conceal themselves from predators. High contrast patterns-nature's equivalent to dazzle camouflage-are used by animals ranging from snakes to zebra to fish. ![]() All in all, more than 2,000 ships received such a makeover, although the scheme's effectiveness seemed to produce mixed results.īy World War II, razzle dazzle had largely fallen out of favor, but as it turns out, this technique lives on in the natural world. The technique consists of squashing together contrasting geometric patterns, shapes and colors to create a pattern of optics that would confuse enemies by distorting the object's dimensions and boundaries. Photo via Naval History and Heritage Commandįrom that idea, Wilkinson devised a type of camouflage called "razzle dazzle" (its slightly more serious name is dazzle camouflage). A ship painted with dazzle camouflage in 1918.
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