1966] 
Nutting — Paraneotermes 
135 
tubing and placed on a large tray of moist soil. ( Paraneotermes has 
been maintained for more than a year in this type of nest with the 
petri dishes containing a layer of 4% agar and thin slices of wood.) 
The colony was held in the dark, walk-in refrigerator for about a 
week at 27°C and 30% RH prior to a brief, simulated flight season. 
Observations were made with the program control set to duplicate 
the temperature cycle of five consecutive days of typical summer 
weather. Daily temperatures varied between 22° and 43°C, relative 
humidities between 28 and 78%. Temperature peaks occurred be- 
tween 1500 and 1600 each day. During the middle of these days 
the temperature sometimes rose at a rate of about 3.3 °C per hour 
and fell later by as much as 9°C per hour for short periods. No 
measurements were made within the nest, although it is certain that 
the relative humidity was continuously at or close to saturation. Most 
cf the observations were made under a red light. 
Under such conditions and below about 34°C, activity in the 
colony appeared to be normal, with the alates remaining almost 
motionless in one or more tightly packed clusters. As the temperature 
rose between about 34 0 and 36°C, the general activity gradually in- 
creased; the alates began to run about and the clusters broke up. 
Above about 36°C the entire colony became more and more agitated 
and the alates leaped and fluttered their wings in frenzied excitement. 
As the temperature dropped this behavioral sequence was reversed. 
In the range from 38° to 36°C, the alates again became gregarious 
— in one instance within 1 5 minutes from their peak of activity. 
On three days, small numbers of these excited alates (15, 13, 2) 
actually emerged from the nest through a small hole drilled in the 
cover of one petri dish as well as from under the edge of the cover. 
In the latter case two soldiers were obviously and attentively stationed 
near the point of emergence although they did not appear to be 
regulating the exit of the alates as suggested for Kalotermes (— In - 
cisitermes) minor by Harvey (loc. cit.) . The emerging alates rapidly 
gained high points on the soil and small stones in the tray, then took 
flight after much moving of heads from side to side and waving of 
antennae. The door of the chamber was opened and observations 
were terminated after the alates had made rapid, erratic flights into 
the day-lighted room outside. 
These limited observations show that the phases of flight activity, 
even within the colony, are amenable to laboratory study. Although 
the preceding manipulations did not duplicate the environmental 
conditions under which this essentially subterranean termite stages 
its flights, they do suggest that high temperature (probably reached 
