Fog-basking beetle
The fog-basking beetle is a shiny black beetle from one of the driest deserts on Earth. On foggy nights it climbs a sand dune and does a headstand. Fog drops collect on its back and roll right down into its mouth.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
Only this beetle and one close cousin are known to drink fog by doing a headstand.
Some beetles can drink fog water that weighs about a third as much as their own body.
It cannot fly. Its wing cases are joined together and it has no wings underneath.
During the day it runs about on the sand, and at night it digs itself into the dune.
People study its back to learn how to collect water from fog.
Most asked questions about Fog-basking beetle
?How does the fog-basking beetle drink?
It stands on its head facing the foggy wind, and the drops slide down its back into its mouth.
?Where does the fog-basking beetle live?
Only in the Namib Desert in southwestern Africa.
?Can the fog-basking beetle fly?
No, its wing cases are joined together and it has no flying wings.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Onymacris unguicularis
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Tenebrionidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Tenebrionidae
- Lives on
- Africa
- Also known as
- Head-stander beetle, Toktokkie
Where the facts come from
- Onymacris unguicularis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Виктор Пинчук. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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