My spot on the river is quite the insectoid wonderland. A few days after meeting the giant wolf spiders, I spotted three very large katydids gleefully making meals of the touch-me-not leaves (a plant that is quite a source of amusement for me. I love making the seed pods explode.)

There is a branch jutting out of the river, about a third of the way from shore. It is part of a larger tree limb that fell in after one of the bigger storms, and has been stuck there all summer. A spider has managed to build a web off of this branch. The hunting must be great, and the competition slim. Yet still I am amazed at the location. I imagine that the spider got there by lowering itself from one of the trees that overhang the river, but I can see know way for the spider to leave. Unless it can fly, swim, or build a boat, it is now stranded. The original filament that lowered it from above is long gone, and all around it is nothing but rushing water. Best of luck to you, little spider!

Some insects would have no problem commuting from the branch. First there are the water bugs, which skim across the surface, doing their best to avoid the greedy mouths of fish. There are the flying insects, like the myriad varieties of dragonfly that flit about all day. And then there was the backswimmer bug I saw today.

I first noticed this bug as it was being chased by a fish, underwater. I thought at first that the fish was chasing a smalled fish or tadpole. The fish caught it, the released it almost immediately. As it started to swim away, I realized that it was an insect, not a fish. The pattern of chase, bite, and release was repeated by several different fish before the insect made it to a rock and crawled out of the water. Fish after fish got this little creature into its mouth, only to spit it back out in an instant. Apparently, the promise of a meal wasn't worth the sting. I got a closer look at it once it made it to the rock and boy, was it a vicious-looking creature. Given that backswimmers will bite humans, I will happily keep my distance, and hope never to encounter one while swimming.

I also managed, at the very last minute, to avoid stepping on a wasp with my sandaled foot. Nearly fell backwards onto the rocks in the river to do so, but I survived without getting stung or crushed. Go me.