Naturalists View August 2019

Naturalists View August 2019

The Desert in August

Monsoon Season

Summer in SaddleBrooke can be a whole lot of fun -- you just have to work with it. Make sure to wake up early. Early as in, pre-dawn. Go get coffee, play golf, go take a walk, whatever you like -- just make sure to accomplish as much as you can before mid-morning. Then, move it over to the pool or take it inside. I like to take a nap in the afternoon so that around 10pm some friends and I can cruise the back roads looking for scorpions, centipedes, snakes, tarantulas, etc.

In many areas of Arizona, Caliche (calcium carbonate) has been building up for thousands of years just below the sand and gravel surface of the desert floor. I first discovered “Caliche” after we moved here in 1999. I brought a rose plant for my wife and went out in the backyard to dig a hole to plant the rose. Anyone who has ever tried to plant anything in the desert probably knows that heavy clunk when the shovel stops with the clink of metal against hard rock. That moment of reckoning when you know the winter garden or the future plantings aren’t going to come easy. I soon had to buy a Caliche bar after working hard to dig a hole large enough for the rose I discovered that it still wouldn’t work because the caliche acted like a pot that wouldn’t drain. Now we plant our roses in pots. Just be sure to not let excess water stand in the saucers as mosquitoes may breed there.

Caliche impedes water absorption into the ground. It is one of the reasons we see such heavy run-off and flooding after a major rain storm. Caliche can also be called “hardpan,” or “calcrete,” and many other names not suitable for print.

Monsoon storms often occur this time of the year. We see violent and spectacular thunder and lightning storms that move swiftly across the desert accompanied by heavy rains and strong winds. Then on the news we often here about motorists that tried to cross that running water next to the sign that says “Do Not Enter When Flooded”. Many out of state motorist seeing the location of these signs in our desert think that our highway Department must be “nuts”.

Did you know that Arizona has a “Stupid Motorist Law?” Back in the 1990’s, Arizona lawmakers grew tired of shelling out taxpayer money to rescue defiant and inattentive drivers who drove around barricades and tried to cross flooded roads and washes. In 1995, they passed Arizona Revised Statutes, § 28-910, now commonly known as the Stupid Motorist Law. The law makes stupid drivers financially responsible for the cost of their rescue. Even short storms can produce flash floods that often trap unsuspecting travelers in the desert.

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These summer rains cause the desert to bloom again, be looking for the barrel cactus blossoms. Summer flowers mean summer butterflies and other insects this in turn brings out the lizards and the birds that feed on these invertebrates. Sometimes hundreds of butterflies will gather around wet or muddy patches of ground where they seek minerals that they need in their diet.

Tarantula

Tarantulas can often be seen in late August wandering about looking for a mate. These are the males the females stay near their burrows usually near a rock or cactus and only venture out at night looking for their prey consisting of grasshoppers, beetles and other small insects. The female tarantulas can live up to 15 years or more. The males usually only live for seven or eight years until they reach sexual maturity, they usually die shortly after mating. The mating season for the male tarantula is a risky affair. They have to avoid being run over on the roads and cart paths, being eaten by birds, toads and small mammals or becoming prey to tarantula Hawks.

Tarantula Hawk

The tarantula Hawk is a large wasp that attacks the tarantula and paralyzes it with a powerful sting. The tarantula Hawk then drags the paralyzed tarantula to a burrow where it lays a single egg attached to the spider’s abdomen. When this egg hatches the larva of this wasp feeds on the paralyzed tarantula. Really fresh food! If the male tarantula avoids all these hazards and finds a female tarantula he then must approach very carefully to see if she is acceptable to his advances or if she may just want him for dinner.

Have questions?

Meet me at “Jim’s Corner” in the RoadRunner Grill Tuesdays 8-9 am.

e-mail jcloer4243@gmail.com