A fog-catching device patterned on the Namibian Beetle’s prodigious water harvesting abilities captures ten times more water than existing fog catching nets. The beetle’s ability to pull water from fog is due to bumps on its wing scales that have water-loving tips and water-shedding sides. QinetiQ (UK) has developed plastic water-harvesting sheets that mimic the beetle’s bumps, useful for capturing water in cooling towers and industrial condensers, arid agricultural systems, and buildings in fog-rich areas.

Product Overview: Biomimetic Water Collection Material
Inspired by: Namibian Beetle
Lead Researcher: Andrew Parker
Lab/University: University of Oxford, British Ministry of Defense (As of 2005, at University of Sydney, as a Fellow)
Availability: Development
For more information: Beetle's Shell Offers Clues to Harvesting Water in the Desert, National Geographic