Wind turbines wrong colour for wildlife
A study has revealed that a wind turbine’s colour affects how many insects it attracts, shedding more light on why the turbines occasionally kill bats and birds.
Scientists say that turbines, most commonly painted white or grey, draw in insects. These then lure bats and birds - as they pursue their prey - into the path of the turbine blades.
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The least attractive paint colour to insects was purple.
That does not necessarily mean that all wind turbines should be painted that colour, say the researchers.
But it does imply that changing a turbine’s colour could have a profound impact on the number of insects it lures in and therefore the number of birds and bats that follow.
The researchers also found that the ultraviolet and infrared components of paint colour, which humans cannot see but insects can, also had a significant impact, with higher levels of both attracting more insects.
Hm. What shade of purple? I wonder which the insects find more attractive: The white or grey paint, or the u/v and IR components of it? If the latter, is there a paint formula that would mask those and still allow white or grey?
I’m guessing that the people who build wind turbines did their research and found that electronic insect repellers don’t work .
