The monsoons this season have been rather lacking. On the east side of Tucson, we’ve gotten maybe four or five good soaks, but it’s been dry otherwise. I have seen plenty of big, beautiful clouds piling up over the mountains, looking for all the world like rain will come pouring down any moment — with booming thunder, too! — but no precipitation to be felt. We had a pretty wet winter, so the plants aren’t suffering too much, but the wildlife is thirsty. I’ve not got much of a frame of reference from past years, so I’m not sure how the dearth of rain has affected the insects this summer. I’ve still seen plenty of bugs, both at the desert level and at higher elevations, and August introduced me to more of Arizona’s lovely arthropods.
Some pretty extraordinarily colorful bugs have been showing up in my explorations, from beetles to grasshoppers to spiders.
The green lynx spiders have been numerous, and they’re quickly becoming one of my favorite species of spider. I’ve observed several females guarding their eggs, and in some cases, their hatched spiderlings. Their long, translucent legs are rather entrancing, and they remind me of spun glass.
August 25, Manzanita Vista on the Mount Lemmon Highway. 
August 21, Gordon Hirabayashi Rec Area. 
A closer look at those beautiful spiderlings!
A few of the month’s odd bugs included an owlfly, seen at Molino Basin on August 24, and a young walking stick, which I found in our yard a few days later. It’s a treat to see insects like these!
It’s September already, and in northern climes that would mean the arthropod season is winding down. Here, not so much! Up next: Tucson’s beautiful Buprestids!
Bug Talk 
Just WOW!
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