Design of signalling color patterns in fast-moving objects, including blades of spinning lures, must be grounded upon the following 4 basic rules:

1) stimuli must be bilaterally symmetric

2) color stimuli must be located closer to the center of rotation

3) red colors are rather than blue ones

4) stimuli must be simple

For more information, see On the coloration of fast-moving signalling stimili in the nature

In the water, blades of spinning lures form clearly visible conical bodies of rotation with an angle of rotation, depending on spinner construction and velocity of retrieving, from 30^o to 60^o. The linear velocity of any spot located at R distance from the axis of rotation is v = 2πR/T, where T is an interim of one turn. If, say, the blade makes one turn per second and R = 0,5 cm, the linear velocity of this spot will be about 3 cm/sec. Generally, blades of spinning lures may make several turns per second, and rotation radii of spots may achieve 2-3 cm for lures of middle size. It means (for general principles, see Stojcev et al., 2011) that fish will see as flashing and colored only those spots, which are located as close as possible to the axis of rotation (with the lowest v).

For example, click here to see how Mepps spinners move (at the constant velocity) in the water.

According to the laboratory experiments (Gehres & Neumeyer, 2007; Stojcev et al., 2011), fish (goldfish, Carassius auratus) see fast-moving (7 cm per second) red and blue discs as colorless.

Figure given bellow shows some color pattrens desined on the ground of the foregoing rules.

These patterns can be used for face (convex) and back (concave) surfaces of the blades.

Curently, we are looking for world manufacturers to produce spinning lures with the foregoing and similar color patterns.

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Address to Dr. Nick Yurchenko at fishermenadvocates@gmail.com

Basic References

Gehres M.M., Neumeyer C. 2007. Small field motion detection in goldfish is red-green color blind and mediated by the M-cone type. Visual Neuroscience 24, 399-407

Stojcev M., Radtke N., D'Amaro D., Dyer A.G., Neumeyer C. 2011. General principles in motion vision: Color blindness of object motion depends on pattern velocity in honeybee and goldfish. Visual Neuroscience 28, 361-370

By virtue of an evolutionarily determined feature of color vision, insects, fish and other animals see fast-moving objects as colorless (Gehres & Neumeyer, 2007; Stojcev et al., 2011). In animals, the fastest moving parts are wings (in insects and birds: e.g., see Schön, 2009). So styding natural coloration of wings allows to understand deeper the phenomenon of color blindness in respect of fast-moving objects.

In particular, wasps, horneybees and other stinging insects have among all insects ones of the fastest beating wings, which are transparent or semi-transparent and have no eye-catching marks. The frequency of wing-beats, F, in the stinging insects is ranged approximately within 100-250 beats per second. For example, for common wasp, Vespa vulgaris, F = 140 b/s, for European honeybee, Apis mellifera, F = 240-250 b/s (Byrne, 1988). These wings beat too quickly to be used as the right location of signalling marks. In the stinging insects, the elements of aposematic coloration, with black, yellow and red colors, are located mainly on the relatively immobile belly (that can be seen in the flight).

The numerous dragonflies and damselflies can be included into the second group with two subgroups. Fast-wingbeating dragonflies (Anisoptera), with the frequency of wing-beats more than 15-20 beats per second (Rüppell, 1989), form the first subgroup. Slow-wingbeating damselflies (Zygoptera), with the frequency of wing-beats less than 15-20 beats per second (Rüppell, 1989), form the second subgoup Unexpectedly, dragonflies and damselflies have the transparent and decorated wings with signalling color patterns.

For example, aposematic coloration in fast-wingbeating (F = 24-25 beats per second) golden-ringed dragonfly, Anotogaster sieboldii (transparet wings, black & yellow belly) (Ishizawa, 2005), is designed similar to that in the stinging insects.

Finally, the numerous butterflies as well as moths can be aggregated into the third group of insects, which have the slowest beating and decorated wings with the cryptic or signalling color patterns. In these insects, the mean frequency of wing-beats is about 5-15 beats per second (Byrne, 1988). It is important in our context that signalling marks, varied from primitive dots to high quality concentric eye-spots, are most developed just in the group af slow-wingbeating butterflies and moths.

For example, the frequency of wing-beats in large emperor moth, Saturnia pyri, with four eye-spots (Fig.1) is about 8 beats per second ((Byrne, 1988).

Fig.1 (read text)

The detailed analysis of signalling coloration in dradonflies and damselflies allows to select the following 4 basic rules that lie at the heart of signalling coloration in fast-moving natural and artificial objets.

Rule #1. An evolutionarily optimal solution

Signalling color patterns must be bilaterally symmetric (both in the fast-moving and slow-moving objects). It is shown experimentally (e.g., Forsman & Herrström, 2004) that even small asymmetry in size, shape and color impair the effectiveness of silnalling stimuli.

In general, the effectiveness of bilaterally symmetric stimuli is determined by the bilateral symmetry of visual system and visual perceprion evolved during millions of years in the field of Earth gravitation.

Rule #2. An evolutionarily optimal solution

Color stimuli must be located closer to the base of the wings or the center of rotation. These stimuli move with the lower linear velocity than stimuli located at the wingtips.

In accordance with this rule, wings of American rubyspot damselfly, ... Read more »