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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 26, 2025

Low-Cost Automated Flight Intercept Trap for the Temporal Sub-Sampling of Flying Insects Attracted to Artificial Light at Night

Low-Cost Automated Flight Intercept Trap for the Temporal Sub-Sampling of Flying Insects Attracted to Artificial Light at Night

Published on: December 29, 2021

False holes as camouflage.

Leah M Costello¹, Nicholas E Scott-Samuel², Karin Kjernsmo¹

¹School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK.

Proceedings. Biological Sciences

|March 12, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

False hole markings on butterfly wings provide camouflage by disrupting the wing surface, offering survival benefits against predators. This disruptive camouflage mimics natural leaf damage without increasing conspicuousness.

Keywords:

camouflage depth perception leaf mimicry predation protective colouration surface disruption

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Last Updated: Dec 26, 2025

Low-Cost Automated Flight Intercept Trap for the Temporal Sub-Sampling of Flying Insects Attracted to Artificial Light at Night

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Published on: December 29, 2021

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A Burrowing/Tunneling Assay for Detection of Hypoxia in Drosophila melanogaster Larvae

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Animal Behavior

Background:

Leaf mimicry is a notable form of camouflage in Lepidoptera.
Wing markings resembling holes are proposed to enhance leaf mimicry or disrupt appearance.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the survival benefits of false hole markings against avian predation.
To determine the functional mechanism of these markings in camouflage.

Main Methods:

Field experiments using artificial butterfly targets to assess predation.
Computer-based visual search experiments to evaluate human detection of targets.

Main Results:

False hole markings significantly increased survival rates against avian predators.
These markings impeded human visual search detection, unlike contrasting light marks.
Contrasting light marks increased target detection.

Conclusions:

False hole markings function as surface disruptive camouflage, breaking up the wing's homogeneous appearance.
This camouflage strategy provides a survival advantage by mimicking natural leaf damage without increasing conspicuousness.