Photo/Illutration A black Wagyu cow painted with zebra-like stripes (Provided by Okitama Sogo Shicho of Yamagata prefectural government)

It’s unbearably hot inside a mosquito net.

In an essay from the late Meiji Era (1868-1912), the physicist Torahiko Terada (1878-1935) grumbled about the device, a mesh curtain that provides a protective barrier against mosquitoes and other insects.

“However, I hate being tormented by mosquitoes even more, so I have no choice but to begrudgingly crawl into this unpleasant mosquito net every night and endure it,” he wrote.

Thanks to changes in our lifestyles, we now have far fewer experiences of being annoyed by mosquitoes buzzing near our ears while we are in bed, struggling with an unpleasant summer night.

We can just turn on the air conditioning and close the windows to shut out mosquitoes.

But what about the animals outside? Even though they are equipped with tails to swat away insects like mosquitoes, horseflies and black flies, this alone may not be enough to fend off their fierce attacks.

Recently, the Okitama Sogo Shicho, a regional office of the Yamagata prefectural government, announced the amusing results of an experiment.

They painted zebra-like stripes on black Wagyu cattle living in a paddock and found that the cattle’s gestures of swinging their tails or heads to drive away insects drastically decreased.

Inspired by prior experiments in Aichi Prefecture and others, they tried it--half-believing, half-doubting--and found that “truly, the insects stopped coming (to attack the cattle),” an amused official said.

Cattle producers were also surprised, according to the official.

I remember reading in my childhood that the zebra’s stripes are meant to dazzle predators. But it is really intriguing to learn that the stripes also protect against insect bites. It’s as if they are naturally wearing a mosquito net bestowed from the heavens.

Terada was a master at questioning phenomena often overlooked as trivial and seeking the truth.

He even compiled a paper on the motion of falling objects inspired by a haiku poem by his mentor, Natsume Soseki (1867-1916).

“As the camellia fell, it hid the horsefly.”

The insect got trapped inside the flower when it fell while it was sucking nectar from the camellia.

Scientists must be individuals who are “slow of understanding,” he wrote. Insects and striped patterns. Hearing about the experiment, Terada would have undoubtedly been delighted.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 18

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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