The beetle is able to survive by collecting water on its bumpy back surface from early morning fogs.

To drink water, the S. gracilipes stands on a small ridge of sand using its long, spindly legs.

Facing into the breeze, with its body angled at 45°, the beetle catches fog droplets on its hardened wings, or elytra.

Accumulation continues until the combined droplet weight overcomes the water's electrostatic attraction to the bumps as well as any opposing force of the wind; in a 30 km/h breeze, such a droplet would stick to the wing until it grows to roughly 5 mm in diameter; at that point it will roll down the beetle's back to its mouthparts.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have emulated this capability by creating a textured surface that combines alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic materials.