Monsoons bring rare bloom south of Boulder City
September 20, 2012 - 5:16 pm
A white-lined sphinx moth caterpillar (Hyles lineata) is seen eating on a plant off of Lakeshore Road at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. The hills around Lake Mead have been invaded by the large, bright-green caterpillar. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A white-lined sphinx moth caterpillar (Hyles lineata) is seen eating on a plant off of Lakeshore Road at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. The hills around Lake Mead have been invaded by the large, bright-green caterpillar. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A white-lined sphinx moth caterpillar (Hyles lineata) is seen eating on a plant off of Lakeshore Road at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. The hills around Lake Mead have been invaded by the large, bright-green caterpillar. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A white-lined sphinx moth caterpillar (Hyles lineata) is seen eating on a plant off of Lakeshore Road at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. The hills around Lake Mead have been invaded by the large, bright-green caterpillar. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A field of Chinch Weed, (Pectis papposa) is seen across the desert floor in the Eldorado Valley near Boulder City on Thursday, Sept. 20. 2012. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A field of Chinch Weed, (Pectis papposa) is seen across the desert floor in the Eldorado Valley near Boulder City on Thursday, Sept. 20. 2012. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A small cactus plant grows in field of Chinch Weed, (Pectis papposa) that has recently bloomed across the desert floor in the Eldorado Valley near Boulder City on Thursday, Sept. 20. 2012. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Several Chinch Weed, (Pectis papposa) flowers are seen on the desert floor in the Eldorado Valley near Boulder City on Thursday, Sept. 20. 2012. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A field of Chinch Weed, (Pectis papposa) is seen across the desert floor in the Eldorado Valley near Boulder City on Thursday, Sept. 20. 2012. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A white-lined sphinx moth caterpillar (Hyles lineata) is seen eating on a plant off of Lakeshore Road at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. The hills around Lake Mead have been invaded by the large, bright-green caterpillar. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A white-lined sphinx moth caterpillar (Hyles lineata) is seen crossing Lakeshore Road at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. The hills around Lake Mead have been invaded by the large, bright-green caterpillar. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
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They happen regularly in the wetter Sonoran Desert, but monsoon blooms in the northern Mojave are as rare as rain. South of Boulder City, the desert is carpeted with large patches of chinch weed blossoms. And with the bloom comes insects, including a minor invasion of bright green caterpillars in the hills around Lake Mead.
