Bugs of the Black Range
Includes all the small critters, 6- and 8-legged,
except Butterflies, Moths, Dragonflies, and Damselflies.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Aquarius remigis
North American Common Water Strider
Railroad Canyon
Black Range
New Mexico
March

This small creature of just barely over a centi-meter in length, a small creature that darts about without warning, a bug, a small bug, and thus difficult to identify in the best of conditions.

Aquarius remigis is the water strider typically reported from this area. Aquarius remigis was first described by Say in 1832, although he placed it in the genus Gerris. These photographs were recorded on March 4 in Railroad Canyon, on the west slope of the Black Range.

Dolomedes gertschi, New Mexico Fishing Spider, preys on water striders. According to bugGuide its range is restricted to the Gila River drainage in Arizona and New Mexico. The waters of Railroad Canyon are in the Mimbres watershed, which drains into north central Mexico - but not at the surface. However, there are observations of this species of spider from Albuquerque and the Jemez Mountains listed at bugGuide and on iNaturalist from the Mimbres River. It is safe, I think, to state that fishing spiders found in this area will be of this species - by range.

BugGuide lists the following (unattributed) statement: "(Aquarius remigis) Faces a conflict when deciding which habitat refuge to use when responding to predators. Predation by sunfish (Lepomis) means these bugs need to retreat to the stream banks. But they must move away from those banks when avoiding fishing spiders (Dolomedes).” Now the stream in Railroad Canyon does not have any sunfish, but it is likely to have some fishing spiders.