PHOTOS: Attracting the ladies, and other monsoon critters action
It isn't just humans who love it when the monsoon rains enliven the desert, perking everything up.
Critters come out to play, bigtime.
"Summer rains trigger a second breeding season for many animals, from insects to the birds and mammals that feed on the insects," the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson notes on its website, adding:.
Many butterflies emerge or arrive with the rains.
Giant palo verde beetles emerge to mate and lay eggs.
Spadefoot toads and Sonoran green toads "begin their short and frenzied reproductive cycles in the shallow rain puddles."
Nectar-feeding bats and their new young begin to move south, following the blooms of agaves.
And it gets buggy out there.
"Look for swirling swarms of winged leaf-cutter and harvester ants the morning after heavy rain; these are new queens and males which will mate and establish new colonies."
Here's a photo gallery of some of Southern Arizona's monsoon critters of the Sonoran Desert.
Attracting the ladies
A male Couch's spadefoot toad puffs up making a mating call as the Alamo Wash flows for a few hours after a monsoon storm in July 2020.
Mating toads
A mating pair of Couch's spadefoot toads deal with an interloper in the flowing Alamo Wash near the Rillito River with the first significant rainfall from the 2020 monsoon. The rains tell toads to emerge to breed after months underground.
Keep your dogs safe from this guy
The Sonoran Desert toad (formerly called the Colorado River toad) is toxic and potentially fatal to dogs.
Bats take flight
Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from under the North Campbell Avenue bridge over the Rillito River. The bats take flight just after sunset to feast on insects.
Watching the bat show
Hundreds of Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from daytime roosts under the Campbell Avenue Bridge over the Rillito.
Javies and others come to water holes
Javelina, including these visiting a home in the Tucson Mountains, are among many animals that can become more visible to urban dwellers during the summer months as they seek out water sources.
Butterfly beauties
Butterflies come out during monsoon moisture. Look for monarchs, sulphurs, queens, fritillaries and two-tailed swallowtails.
Giant palo verde beetles
The palo verde root borer beetle can reach 3½ inches in length.
Tarantula mating season
Arizona blond tarantulas are burrowing spiders commonly seen during the summer rainy season.
Harvester ants
A harvester ant carries a Texas sage flower.
Sonoran green toad
A Sonoran green toad in all its summer glory.
Gila monsters come out to drink and bathe
Gila monsters emerge from burrows during the monsoon to drink from puddles. They also have a fondness for backyard pools.
Taking black lights out on the trail
Hikers at the Gabe Zimmerman Davidson Canyon Trailhead, on an August sojourn with black lights, saw beetles, moths, millipedes and fireflies, and they heard a Western screech owl.
Rattlesnakes give birth in August
Monsoon season is when rattlesnakes, including Western diamondbacks, get busy. Rattlesnakes all give birth in August, the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary says.
Lotsa legs
Millipedes come out during the summer rainy season, too.
Cicada chorus
The cicada is a signature summer bug that sends out the high-pitched, nerve-wracking buzz in the heat of the day.
Moth time
Southern Arizona sees more moths during monsoon seasons, including our very large black witch moths.
Looking for easy answers about what's happening to our monsoon season? Good luck, says University of Arizona climatologist Mike Crimmins.
Tucson's monsoon season spans June 15 through Sept. 30. So far it has been a lot drier than usual across the much of the Metro area.
Both the seasonal monsoons and winter storms that have been so sparse this year are critical for groundwater recharge in the Tucson basin, but the winter precipitation contributes most to yearly recharge, says Wally Wilson, chief hydrologist for Tucson Water.
A flash flood watch has been issued for the Tucson area from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. today.
Bug enthusiasts will be seeing red at this year's Arizona Insect Festival, which will feature a new exhibit on a prickly pear parasite used for centuries to make a prized scarlet dye.