The Namib Desert beetle survives by harvesting drinking water from fog using its own back.

The Namib Desert beetle (Stenocara gracilipes) lives in one of the world's most arid regions, where rainfall is extremely rare. To survive, it has evolved a process called fog-basking. During early morning hours, the beetle climbs to the top of sand dunes and tilts its abdomen at a 45-degree angle toward the incoming fog from the Atlantic Ocean.The beetle's hardened forewings, known as elytra, feature a specialized surface architecture. The peaks of the bumps on its back are hydrophilic, meaning they attract water, while the slopes and valleys are coated in a hydrophobic wax that repels it. As fog passes over the beetle, microscopic droplets stick to the hydrophilic peaks and merge into larger drops.Once a droplet becomes heavy enough to overcome the wind's force, it detaches from the peak and rolls down the wax-coated channels. These hydrophobic grooves act like a slide, funneling the water directly to the beetle's mouthparts. This mechanism is so efficient that it has inspired researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop fog-harvesting materials for human use.Studies published in journals like Nature have highlighted how this passive collection system allows the beetle to thrive in environments with less than 0.5 inches of annual rainfall. By drinking up to 12% of its body weight in water, the beetle maintains hydration in temperatures that can reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This biological innovation is a prime example of biomimicry in modern engineering.