Brief Communications
Nature 414, 33-34 (1 November 2001) | doi:10.1038/35102108
Water capture by a desert beetle
Andrew R. Parker1 and Chris R. Lawrence2
Some beetles in the Namib Desert collect drinking water from fog-laden wind on their backs1. 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.
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
- Mechanical Sciences Sector, QinetiQ, Farnborough GU14 0LX, UK
Correspondence to: Andrew R. Parker1 e-mail: Email: andrew.parker@zoo.ox.ac.uk