![]() ![]() Although the stream bottom is very muddy and it’s common for me to trip and fall into the water or over-top my hip waders, the water’s clean and cool and it’s a really great place to collect aquatic insects. There are also leeches, though these are supposedly not parasitic on humans – and I have yet to get any on me, which makes this seem more likely to be true. There are a wide assortment of dragonfly and damselfly nymphs, several mayfly and beetle species, sideswimmers (also known as scuds or amphipods), and tons little riffle bugs that skittle about on the surface of the water. I often collect other insects at the stream for classes that I teach. Even better, it’s almost always cooler at this stream than it is in Tucson, so it’s a nice place to go to escape the heat in the summer! The stream contains a lot of giant water bugs, so I am always sure that I can get them at this location whenever I need them. It’s a gorgeous place – tons of giant cottonwoods, watercress and duckweed covering the water, and mint lines a good part of the bank so it smells minty as you walk. I collect many of the giant water bugs I use in my research from a spring fed stream in southern Arizona. ![]()
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