Desert Beetles Drinking

Some weather channels and sites have news related to climates, and they would do well to post about deserts. They form under certain conditions. The Namib is a desert like a strip along Namibia and a bit north and south in Africa along the Atlantic Ocean.

It is actually a cool desert (Antarctica is also a desert but obviously much colder). The air is laden with moisture, so there is early-morning fog. The darkling (or fogstand) beetle has a very interesting way of getting the water it needs in this arid region.

Fogstand racing stripe beetle, Wikimedia Commons / Hans Hillewaert (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Since water is in the air, the beetle angles its backside into the breeze. Those bumps on its shell help it collect the moisture. Droplets are formed and directed so that the beetle can drink the water. Once again, we see that the Creator equipped a creature with special survival features, but descent with modifications evolution storytellers are unable to come up with a plausible development scenario. Also, water gathering and other things are being studied through biomimetics for human applications.

Living in a desert is not a walk in the park. It takes some special designs to cope with high temperatures and hot sand—for example, furry paws in the case of small mammals. Another problem is getting sufficient nourishment and water. Different animals use different strategies—e.g., camels—but one insect in particular has a very special method of collecting water. It’s Stenocara gracilipes, the Namib desert beetle.

To gather the rest of the article, click on "Beetle beats the drought."