I am not a vet but.....
the black and yellow or orange striping on bees, many wasps, some moths and
all sorts of things is a (pretty much) universally known warning of
potential danger - poison or sting.
Likewise those Poison Arrow Frogs from C and S America have bright warning
colours. Even our very own Corroboree Frog - for the same reason.
NOT the rotten Cane Toad though - hence Monitors, snakes etc caught
out/poisoned by eating this B thing!!
A number of tricksters of the insect world, who lack poison or stings, adopt
the some colouration and/or mimic e.g. wasp body shape to give them an
advantage against predators.
I am always amazed to watch injured bees stumbling about on the ground in my
chook run being utterly ignored by the hens - they will go to great lengths
to catch flies, beetles, moths or anything else without the warning livery.
I also find my chooks (and other animals) get more wary when I am wearing
bright yellow shirts (which I like to do) or when I hang them on the clothes
line. Especially a particularly bright silk one!!
Conversely wearing this colour will attract thrip and several other insects
ONTO you!! MOST annoying when these pests are in high numbers!! (Hence
yellow sticky traps used in green/glass houses to catch several pests like
this)
Wendy
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