Santa Rita Mts after the first rains of monsoon 2017

Megathymus ursus, Ursus Giant Skipper

On big rocks in a creek bed with a little water I found a strikingly big Skipper: Megathymus ursus, Ursus Giant Skipper
Butterfly folks always ask if I see these. Now I know why, this is one very impressive skipper! Big and heavy! Rare enough to for mine to be the first for AZ on BugGuide.net, even though the type-location is the Catalina Mts in Pima Co (Type-location: where the originally described specimen was found). The inside of the wings has yellowish-gold markings, but It would not sit still to have those photographed.

Campsomeris ephippium male

 Another giant, though his female is even bigger, is this Scoliid Wasp, Campsomeris ephippium reaches more than 2 inches in length. Also impressive was his reaction to being pushed around a little: He made rather convincing stinging motions extending the retractible "trident" at the apex of the abdomen. Those sclerotized genitalia plus that behavior are a good example of intra-species Batesian mimicry.(note: only female hymenopterans have a stinger and venom glands, because the stinger is the ovipositor).
The females are usually busy scouting the ground for big scarab larvae, but males can be found nectaring on flowers. These Mexican wasps are now permanent residents in SE Arizona including the Catalinas (Sabino Canyon). I think we saw the first ones around 2010 in the Huachuca Mountains.

Triscolia ardens females

 There were more Scoliids on the same Acacia - just after the first rains, there were not too many blooming plants. These ladies were big for their kind,- over 3 cm long. Triscolia ardens are quite variable in size. I'm not quite sure if I'm not misidentifying a similar species at times. But individuals of many parasitic species develop by the luck of the draw - dependent on the size of the host that their mother was able to find.

Pogonomyrmex sp. mating

The rain triggered a mating frenzy among Harvester Ants. Hundred of alates (winged males and females ready to mate) crawled and flew to the top of a telephone pole. Up there they did their aerial dance during which males grabbed females and together they tumbled to the ground, usually three to four males per female. I wanted to collect some for the research project of a friend. It was slightly disconcerting to have my most feared nemesis rain down on me by the dozens, but I figured they'd be too busy to sting. I was kind of right: the ones that fell into my shirt from above did no harm...but a lowly worker did crawl up my pant leg. Before I had my boot of and could drop the pants, I got three stings from her.  Still red, hard and itchy three days later.

 A nice Mydas Fly along Proctor Road.

Ammophila Wasp and a nice metallic bee

Macrodactylus uniformis (Western Rose Chafers)

Anomala nimbosa pair

Euphoria monticola (Photo Sue Carnahan) and Euphoria leucographa

Euphoria spp. are day active scarabs. Probably mostly males were flying - in search of females. The pretty green E. monticola stayed in the understory of oak forest, while E. leucographa was 'hill-topping' (aggregations flying around the top of the tree) around all kinds of tall trees in the grassland.

The long face of Lycus arizonensis

Cicindela sedecimpunctata

On the rocks along the creek: our most common Tiger Beetle, not yet in great numbers. 

Arhaphe cicindeloides

Not far from the Tiger Beetle, I found  a nymph of the Largid (Bordered Plant Bugs)  Arhaphe cicindeloides. This species seems to imitate the behavior of the tigers, but if that is mimicry or just being smart and fast when chased I don't know.

Mecki  would like to point out that all the photos above, except the Pogo ones, where a cooperative effort.  From Bear Skippers to Tiger Beetles, we faced and stalked them all of them together, connected by the legally prescribed leash.  How else would she keep the camera steady?