A number of endemic darkling beetles species- such as the Namib Desert beetle- have bumpy elytrons with a pattern of hydrophilic bumps and hydrophobic troughs.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have emulated this capability by creating a textured surface that combines alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic materials.
•
The beetle is able to survive by collecting water on its bumpy back surface from early morning fogs.
•
Minute water droplets (15-20 µm in diameter) from the fog gather on its wings; there the droplets stick to hydrophilic (water-loving) bumps, which are surrounded by waxy, hydrophobic troughs.
Mojave Desert | beetle | Volkswagen Beetle | ground beetle | Sonoran Desert | Desert Island Discs | desert | The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | Gobi Desert | Atacama Desert | Mount Desert Island | Blue Beetle | Volkswagen New Beetle | Kalahari Desert | Desert Hearts | Black Rock Desert | Libyan Desert | Namib Desert | Leaf beetle | Colorado Desert | Beetle | Western Desert | The Sons of the Desert | Painted Desert | leaf beetle | Chihuahuan Desert | Western Desert Campaign | The Desert Rose Band | scarab beetle | Palm Desert, California |