174 
Psyche 
[September 
greater warmth, workers often made small openings in the thatch 
and sometimes pupae were placed out in the light at these openings. 
Although mounds were connected by covered runways workers 
sometimes found it convenient to carry pupae across the surface 
to other chambers and sometimes they carried them outside to place 
them under curled up leaves. They were removed from the exposed 
places if temperatures became too high or too low. One afternoon 
there was a io degree drop (from 86° to 76° F.) in 5 minutes and 
workers were very busy taking pupae into underground chambers 
and repairing openings in the thatch which they had made that 
morning. In early September, when many alates and workers were 
emerging, there was a conspicuous bringing out of empty pupa 
cases which were discarded in the grass 6 to 36 inches away. 
Flights. In 1970 the first adult males were seen on August 27 
and the first female on August 29. Each day after that the colony 
was watched for flights. The next six days were either rainy, cold 
or windy and the first flight took place on September 5, 1970. It 
is not known if alates would have flown earlier in good weather 
or if they needed this time to mature. 
By 9 a.m. on September 5 there was more activity of workers 
outside the nest than had occurred all summer. Some workers were 
making an opening at the base of the center mound and others 
seemed to be guarding it. No males were in sight at this time, but 
one was seen when a superficial oak leaf was moved. The morning 
continued to be bright and clear and the temperature rose to 94 0 F. 
(10 inches above the ground, in sun) by 10:50 a.m. At this time 
the first two males emerged. A worker came up after one and it 
dropped out of sight. Suddenly at 1 1 105 three males climbed from 
the shade of grasses into the sun (92 0 F.) and flew immediately. 
Twenty minutes later a fourth flew and then a fifth. The males 
were escaping from an opening down in the shade which was being 
guarded by 8 to 10 workers. Temperatures in the sun seemed to 
be too high for the workers and when males reached a sunny spot 
they flew quickly or ran down into the shade. At ground level, in 
the shade, the temperature was a moderate 82° F. During the 
next 40 minutes 10 more males flew, with periods as long as 13 
minutes between flying. At one time there were six males in sight 
but usually there were only one or two or even none. After 12:15 
p.m. no more males flew but from time to time one would climb 
a bit of vegetation and then drop. Conditions had become unfavor- 
able for flying. Temperature at the 10 inch level (about grass top) 
was not higher than before but the ground was becoming equally 
