Water capture by a desert beetle.
Some beetles in the Namib Desert collect drinking water from fog-laden wind on their backs. We show here that these large droplets form by virtue of the insect's bumpy surface, which consists of alternating hydrophobic, wax-coated and hydrophilic, non-waxy regions. The design of this fog-collecting structure can be reproduced cheaply on a commercial scale and may find application in water-trapping tent and building coverings, for example, or in water condensers and engines.
Parker
A R
AR
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. andrew.parker@zoo.ox.ac.uk
Lawrence
C R
CR
D000353:Africa, Southern; D000818:Animals; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000502:physiology*; D003889:Desert Climate; D014867:Water
D014867:Water