The daily cycle of _T. ornata_ consists basically of periods of basking, foraging, and rest that vary in length depending upon environmental conditions. Turtles emerge from burrows, forms, and other places of concealment soon after dawn and ordinarily bask for at least a few minutes before beginning to forage; foraging is combined sometimes with basking, especially in open areas that are suitable for both kinds of activity. Foraging usually continues until shelter is sought sometime between mid-morning and noon. Turtles remain under cover (or continue to forage in shaded areas) until mid-afternoon or late afternoon when they again become active. They forage in both morning and afternoon. Study of travel records of a few of the turtles equipped with trailers suggests that, under normal conditions, activity is slightly greater in forenoon than in afternoon, but that the converse is true of gravid females seeking nesting sites. Strecker (1908:79) reported that captive _T. ornata_, after developing a feeding reflex, ate and retired until feeding time next day. As environmental temperatures rise in summer, the period of mid-day quiescence is lengthened. In the hottest part of the year, some turtles remain under cover for several days at a time. In periods of clear, cool weather at the beginning and end of the growing season, some turtles remain abroad and bask for most of the day. Examination of thread trails showed that activity of all individuals except nesting females was terminated at dusk. Breder (1927:236), Allard (1935:336), and Stickel (1950:358) reported a corresponding lack of nocturnal activity in _T. carolina_. _Terrapene o. ornata_ in Kansas, and _T. o. luteola_ in New Mexico (Norris and Zweifel, 1950:2)--unlike desert tortoises, _Gopherus agassizi_, which are active at night in hot weather (Woodbury and Hardy, 1948:186)--do not utilize the hours of darkness for foraging, even in the hottest part of the year. Seasonal Cycle of Activity Data obtained by mapping the movements of turtles that were equipped with trailing devices made it possible to compare distances traveled in the course of daily activities at different times of the year. Some of these data are expressed graphically in Figure 27. It should be noted that movement at all times in the season of activity was uneven; that is to say, an individual would move several hundred feet each day for a period of several days, and then, for an interval of one to several days, move only a few feet from one shelter to another, or not move at all. Such periods of rest could not be correlated definitely with environmental conditions; some individuals were inactive on days that were probably ideal (in terms of moderately warm temperatures and high humidity) for activity of box turtles. Analagous rest periods were noted in _T. carolina_ by Stickel (1950:358).