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Mimicking The Namib Desert Beetle With Hydrophilic And Hydrophobic Surfaces, Tyler Bracewell
Mimicking The Namib Desert Beetle With Hydrophilic And Hydrophobic Surfaces, Tyler Bracewell
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
The Namib Desert beetle, Stenocara gracilipes, condenses fog that rolls in off the west coast of Namibia to provide itself with the water it needs for the day. By lifting its abdomen into the air to collect the water vapor, it condenses on hydrophilic bumps that are about 500μm in diameter and are spaced apart about 500-1500μm. Once the water reaches a critical size, the droplet rolls off the hydrophilic bump and onto the flat hydrophobic surface of the elytra. Since the beetle is angled with its abdomen in the air, the water rolls down to its mouth. A …