''Onymacris unguicularis'', the head-stander beetle, is a species of fog basking beetle that is native to the
Namib Desert
The Namib ( ; pt, Namibe) is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means "vast place". According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namib ...
of southern Africa. Native to a very arid yet very foggy region, the beetle is nicknamed the "head-stander" beetle for its habit of tipping its head downward and using its legs and the rest of its body to collect water. Fog condenses on the beetle's body to form water droplets. It then directs these drops towards its mouth to hydrate.
The head-stander beetle's adaptation to its extremely arid environment has inspired new technology. Kitae Pak, a student at Seoul National University of Technology, invented the Dew Bank, a water bottle that collects water from dew, similar to the beetle.
See also
*''
Physosterna cribripes'', another fog-basking Namib desert beetle
*''
Stenocara gracilipes
''Stenocara gracilipes'' is a species of beetle that is native to the Namib Desert in southern Africa. This is one of the most arid areas of the world, receiving only of rain per year. The beetle is able to survive by collecting water on its ...
'', another fog-basking Namib desert beetle
*
Toktokkies
Toktokkies are various species of beetles that belong to the large Tenebrionidae family, also known as Darkling beetle. Toktokkies do not belong to a particular tribe or genus of Tenebrionids, but rather a selection of flightless species that make ...
References
Beetles of Africa
Tenebrionidae
Insects of Namibia
Beetles described in 1875
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