2450 replies to this topic

[TheAntGuy]

Looks like it rained west of desert center, in the middle of desert center and the southern entrance to JT, pretty much right on the 10. Iweathernet shows 2-3 inches in the center of where it hit.

Edited by Theantguy14, September 4 2019 - 10:37 PM.

[dspdrew]

Looks like it rained west of desert center, in the middle of desert center and the southern entrance to JT, pretty much right on the 10. Iweathernet shows 2-3 inches in the center of where it hit.

 

I know that spot near Red Cloud Mine Road pretty well. I got a bunch of Acromyrmex from there last year. You need a truck to get out there though.

[TheAntGuy]

Man, wish I could hit that spot. Needing a truck diqualifies me haha.

[TheAntGuy]

You think Acromyrmex will fly there? If so when would be the best time to go, I've got a friend who wants to maybe head up there

[TheAntGuy]

Also I'm assuming there's mendax there as well, I am hoping at least.

[Antics]

You planning on heading out there soon?

[TheAntGuy]

Possibly tomorrow, there's still a chance that rain could hit the south entrance to JT, if i have to I can just park and then hike until I get to the road drew mentioned
Its mainly for mendax since I really want a colony of them, but i wouldn't mind getting Acromyrmex or other pots

[TheAntGuy]

Its also supposed to rain pretty heavily in whitewater in a couple hours, might be worth checking out.

[mbullock42086]

Its also supposed to rain pretty heavily in whitewater in a couple hours, might be worth checking out.

la quinta might be epic they got alot of rain couple days ago might soak deep enough with one more storm to trigger a flight

[TheAntGuy]

From what I can see, la quinta hasnt gotten anything in 72 hours, and i don't think there is any forcasted

[mbullock42086]

From what I can see, la quinta hasnt gotten anything in 72 hours, and i don't think there is any forcasted

I watched the storms myself along with precip. measurements on wundermap, it's actually quite useful for detecting storms.  I don't use forecast data i only report live storms and inform of the direction the moisture is heading.

the storm already went through la quinta fyi it was a massive storm line from baja to the high desert

Edited by mbullock42086, September 5 2019 - 2:55 PM.

[TheAntGuy]

Well maybe ill make a stop there, I've decided I'm going to head out tomorrow. I'm leaving around 5:30 or so, gonna stop by whitewater since I believe they had a storm last weekend, and its on the way regardless so it can't hurt to check. Afterwards I will continue up the 10 and possibly check la quinta, then ill head up to the spot where it rained, pull off on the shoulder and look around and hope for the best. Ill have my trusty shovel and plenty of collection containers.

[YsTheAnt]

Good luck out there! Whitewater has those cool purple backs with bright red workers, so keep an eye out for those!

[TheAntGuy]

Thanks, yeah I'm hoping i can get some of them.

[mbullock42086]

another thing to ikeep in mind is where water from the mountains goes-  for example, if there's a big storm over Joshuatree national park, that water will end up in mecca hills (box canyon rd), which is what happened recently-  a man was washed away during a debris flow that originated from the high desert

[TheAntGuy]

Well, trip was a bust. Nothing but P. Rugosus unfortunately.

[mbullock42086]

Well, trip was a bust. Nothing but P. Rugosus unfortunately.

means the conditions were good though.  bear in mind it's late in the season and the bulk of alates have mated and they need to make a new generation of them

[ANTdrew]

What’s wrong with P. rugosus? You already have a lot of them?

[dspdrew]

another thing to ikeep in mind is where water from the mountains goes-  for example, if there's a big storm over Joshuatree national park, that water will end up in mecca hills (box canyon rd), which is what happened recently-  a man was washed away during a debris flow that originated from the high desert

My first time out there, that almost happened to me. I tried to make it through to Mecca without knowing anything about that road. Some guy told me at the first spot where the water was going over the road that that was the worst of it, and it's higher elevation after that. Wow was he wrong. That road and wash cross each other about 50 times. Every crossing was worst than the last, until there was no road left at all. Once I could no longer see the yellow line in the center of the road for too much distance, I ended up in a wash rather than the road. Not only that, but it was 10:00 at night and pitch black. For a while, I was literally walking hundreds of feet up the road and setting my flashlight down so I knew where to drive to in order to keep from going off the road. I got stuck momentarily turning around, but finally got back on the road and drove back out following my own tire marks. If I had the truck I have now, I probably would have made it through.
 
Here's a video of the first spot I got stopped at. I looked around there for an hour or so, and didn't try to make that drive until the water went down enough to see the road.
 

 
 

Well, trip was a bust. Nothing but P. Rugosus unfortunately.

 
No surprise. Other than Acromyrmex, that's almost all I find in that area this time of the year. P. rugosus seem to fly almost every time it rains in the desert. We also find M. mendax all along the road that runs just south of the JT park boundaries.
 
 
I actually found lots of Myrmecocystus queens up in Llano last weekend.

[mbullock42086]

another thing to ikeep in mind is where water from the mountains goes-  for example, if there's a big storm over Joshuatree national park, that water will end up in mecca hills (box canyon rd), which is what happened recently-  a man was washed away during a debris flow that originated from the high desert

My first time out there, that almost happened to me. I tried to make it through to Mecca without knowing anything about that road. Some guy told me at the first spot where the water was going over the road that that was the worst of it, and it's higher elevation after that. Wow was he wrong. That road and wash cross each other about 50 times. Every crossing was worst than the last, until there was no road left at all. Once I could no longer see the yellow line in the center of the road for too much distance, I ended up in a wash rather than the road. Not only that, but it was 10:00 at night and pitch black. For a while, I was literally walking hundreds of feet up the road and setting my flashlight down so I knew where to drive to in order to keep from going off the road. I got stuck momentarily turning around, but finally got back on the road and drove back out following my own tire marks. If I had the truck I have now, I probably would have made it through.
 
Here's a video of the first spot I got stopped at. I looked around there for an hour or so, and didn't try to make that drive until the water went down enough to see the road.
 

the flow that went through last year was horrific, basically a 10 foot layer of mud blanketed the entire length of the road. i was up north watching the storm from barstow it was like.. 5 inches of rain all quick

Edited by dspdrew, September 18 2019 - 4:10 PM.
fixed quote code