Inspiring report. Great writing. Many thanks. You & MJ have done ZA proud on ADVRider.
With reference to the shot of Craig on the dune. The Beatles were a 60â??s pop band â?? rather successful. That is one of my cousins; another trenebrionid beetle behind his left shoulder.
I quote from â??African Insect Lifeâ?? S.H.Skaife, revised edition by John Ledger, Struik,1979.
â??The family occurs in all types of terrestrial habitats, but the greatest diversity of species is found in dry areas and desertsâ?¦.In Africa the richest tenebrionid fauna is found in the Namib Desert, where scientists from the Desert Ecological Research Unit at Gobabeb have discovered the most remarkable habits and adaptations to life in one of the harshest environments in the world. Even the vegetationless dunes support a rich fauna of highly specialized beetles, whose main food supply is wind-borne plant and animal debris, blown from distant sources into the desert.
Certain nocturnal species show remarkable behavioral adaptations which enable them to collect moisture from the periodic fogs, so characteristic a feature of the Namib. Lepidochora species, for example, normally â??swimâ? across the surface of the sand, but when the fog comes rolling in, they dig trenches in the sand across the path of the fog-bearing wind. These trenches catch and condense moisture from the fog, and when the beetles later retrace their steps they are able to extract the water, flattening the ridges in the process.
Equally remarkable is the behaviour of Onymacris unguicularis. When the fog comes rolling in, this beetle climbs to the top of a ridge and stands head-down. As the fog condenses on the body of the beetle, the droplets of water run down towards the mouth and are swallowed.â??
