1965] 
Nutting — Zootermopsis 
1 15 
as at Hereford or in heavily irrigated areas as in the Gila Valley at 
Salford. Although the altitudinal distribution ranges from 1500 feet 
in the creosote bush — salt brush desert around Florence to 55°° feet 
in oak — pine woodland along Workman Creek, all of these situations 
support at least thin stands of one or more large trees such as cotton- 
wood, sycamore, ash, walnut and alder. Considering the intensity of 
light-trapping which has been done in Arizona, it does not seem 
likely that the range of laticeps will be extended much farther into 
the higher plateaus and mountains to the north or into the lesser 
ranges and desert to the west. However, it is highly probable that it 
might be found in the northwestern reaches of the Rio Grande, at 
least above and below Las Cruces, and south on both slopes of the 
Sierra Madre Occidental well into Sonora and Chihuahua. 
Colonizing Flights. Lack of complete seasonal series of collections 
from any of the localities in Table 1 prevents a detailed character- 
ization of the flight schedule of Z. laticeps. Alates appeared in a 
laboratory colony, maintained between 60 and 70°F, during the first 
three weeks of June. Obviously it may be expected to fly from late 
June into early August over most of its range in Arizona, apparently 
with little regard for small differences in altitude. The records from 
Salford and Madera Canyon indicate that the seasonal flight pattern 
involves small groups of alates taking part in frequent, perhaps almost 
daily, flights over a period of six weeks or more. Since the highest 
monthly maximum temperature over most of this region is usually 
reached in late June or early July, and prior to any significant amount 
of rain (Sellers, i960), it is suggested that high temperature may 
provide the major stimulus for initiating the flight period rather than 
the advent of the summer rains. Both Werner and Burger reported 
that no rain of any significance had fallen prior to the collections they 
had made in Madera Canyon and at Workman Creek (Table 1). 
Light and Weesner (1948, p. 55) took small numbers of alates 
between 1 and 4 A.M. and between 11 P.M. and 12:45 A.M. on two 
successive evenings in the Huachuca Mts. The complete absence of 
observations on any of the 27 flights recorded here, plus the fact that 
most collections were taken in light traps, further testifies to the fact 
that this termite does indeed fly during the night. The night at Pena 
Blanca (Table 1) might be cited as typical of most of the light- 
trapping ventures. The trap was run from shortly after sunset until 
sunrise and rather closely tended by four persons till midnight. No 
alates of any species of termite were seen; however, one alate of 
laticeps was taken from the trap the next morning. The only other 
data closely associated with any of the flights are the temperature and 
