Wind turbines should be painted purple to save the lives of thousands of bats and birds which are killed by them each year, claim scientists.
Boffins from Loughborough University say the current white colour of the distinctive looking wind turbines attracts insects.
This in turn is said to attract larger predators which can easily get caught near the spinning blades and are killed by a sudden change in air pressure causing their blood vessels to burst.
After a series of tests the team concluded white, light grey and yellow were the colours which attracted the most insects while purple saw the fewest.
A spokesperson for the study said, “Our major conclusion from this work is that turbine paint colour could be having a significant impact on the attraction of insect species to the structure, both during the day and at night.”
‘Wind turbines should be painted purple’
