Butterfly wing patterns create powerful illusory motion cues

Butterfly wing patterns create powerful illusory motion cues | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Biological Sciences - Article Butterfly wing patterns create powerful illusory motion cues Jolyon Troscianko, George Hancock, Emmanuelle Briolat, Anna Hughes, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7819374/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The dazzling stripes found on zebras and snakes have long been thought to interfere with predator motion perception, but this hypothesis has received little empirical support to date. Butterflies demonstrate enormously diverse and high-contrast wing patterns, the function of which has inspired intense theoretical debate and research. Here we suggest that butterfly wing patterns work in tandem with flight dynamics to create visual illusions that confuse predators. We use multiple independent lines of enquiry with biologically inspired modelling to support this hypothesis: free-flight butterfly take-offs filmed at high speed demonstrate the creation of misleading motion cues; phylogenetically controlled analyses demonstrate that this is an evolutionarily widespread strategy; and in silico evolution experiments independently converge on butterfly-like wing patterns. Our results show that butterfly wing patterns and flight dynamics create powerful illusory motion effects, potentially representing one of the most successful and hitherto unknown visual defence strategies in moving animals. Biological sciences/Ecology/Evolutionary ecology Biological sciences/Zoology/Animal behaviour Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.pdf Supplementary Information SupplementaryVideo1.mp4 Supplementary Video 1 SupplementaryVideo2.mp4 Supplementary Video 2 SupplementaryVideo3.mp4 Supplementary Video 3 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7819374","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Biological Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":527522543,"identity":"1c655d62-6900-4fa2-b4fc-d7239c398b27","order_by":0,"name":"Jolyon 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