1956] 
Talbot — Dolichoderus flight 
135 
cause they were simply openings in the mass of stems and 
leaves. 
The nest was found on August 10, 1954, at 10 o’clock in 
the morning (Eastern Standard Time), and it was a most 
interesting sight at that time. The whole mound was 
completely covered with a milling mass of the vivid red 
and black workers together with three or four dozen 
equally bright females. Some workers were foraging, but 
most seemed to be merely “promenading” in the sun, and 
a few even carried pupae or larvae about with them. 
Females seemed to have no urge to climb upward above 
the mound, and if one started down toward the ground, 
workers would touch or pull her until she walked up to 
the top again. 
The next day males as well as females were promenad- 
ing with the workers, and it was suspected that a flight 
might have taken place earlier that morning. To check 
this assumption, the colony was observed at 8 a.m. the 
following day. Although the morning was sunny, the 
temperature was only 55 °F and as a result no ants were 
in sight. At 9 o’clock (58°) a few workers, males and 
females, were moving slowly on the mound, and by 9 :30 
a.m. (58.5°) some were climbing blackberry and grass 
stems directly above the nest. Workers were touching 
some of the winged ants on the side or back in a fashion 
which caused them to move upward, but most climbed 
with no urging. Some ants fluttered their wings as they 
walked about, but none flew until 9:45 a.m. (65°) when 
four females flew at one time. Many males and females 
had come from the mound and had climbed upward on 
blackberries or grasses, but no more flew, for by this 
time the mound was in partial sunshine and the tem- 
perature rose abruptly to 74°F. By 9:55 a.m. all had 
come back down, and there was a mass of winged ants 
and workers on the mound similar to the one seen the day 
before. Since this does not constitute a good flight, it is 
suspected that it was the first of the series. 
The flight the next day (August 13) was a typical one 
with many males and females leaving the colony. At 
