Why do zebras have stripes? To confuse flies! Scientists recently discovered this by dressing horses in zebra costumes.
The costumes were part of an experiment led by Tim Caro. The biologist covered 9 horses in black, white, or zebra-print cloth. Then he tracked buzzing flies with high-speed cameras.
Like real zebras, the horses wearing zebra coats got fewer bites. The striped pattern puzzled the flies. They didn’t know where to land!