Monsoon awakens many critters in Southeast Arizona

The monsoon is a time for courtship, mating and laying eggs among the invertebrates that make their homes in southeastern Arizona. Bud & I drove to Animas the other day and noticed a lot of millipedes crossing the road.  These many-legged critters are rarely seen because the are nocturnal and spend most of their lives underground.   During the monsoons, they are often washed up to the surface and onto the roadways.  I imagine it is their time to find mates too so they are on the move.  Tarantulas, Tarantula Hawks, Palo Verde Beetles and Blister Beetles are some of the other invertebrates we encounter this time of year.  And ANTS, we can't forget the ants.  If you never seen an ant hatch, you're missing quite and event as hundreds of winged, mostly male ants emerge from a small hole in the ground, fly up in a cloud of ants where they attempt to mate with a flying queen, before dropping back to the earth, where the males generally die rather quickly.  The mated females (queens) will attempt to establish a new colony.   In addition, we see  an occasional Vinegaroon.  Quite scary looking, but relatively harmless.  They simply spray a vinegary liquid to deter their predators.  Very secretive, they don't come out in the open often.
The creek is running quite nicely now and the restoration that was done in the creaked behind our neighbors house seems to be keeping the creek where it should be.  Hopefully we won't get another onslaught like we did last September from Hurricane Odile.