Ponerinae

Ponerinae is a subfamily of ants in the Poneromorph subfamilies group, with about 1,600 species in 47 extant genera, including Dinoponera gigantea - one of the world's largest species of ant. Mated workers have replaced the queen as the functional egg-layers in several species of ponerine ants. In such queenless species, the reproductive status of workers can only be determined through ovarian dissections. Ponerinae is a subfamily of ants within the family of Formicidae. These ants typically nest in soil, forest litter, or rotting logs, and are predacious. They primarily prey on isopods. They mostly live in small colonies of up to 200 workers. They can be found mostly in tropical environments, but have been found in southeastern Canada and New York. Female workers have twelve segmented antennae, whereas male workers have 13 segmented antennae.

For the orchid subtribe, see Ponerinae (plant).

Ponerinae
Temporal range: Turonian-Recent
Fighting Harpegnathos saltator
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Ponerinae
Lepeletier, 1835
Type genus
Ponera
Latreille, 1804
Diversity[1]
59 genera
Plectroctena sp. fighting

These ants are characterized by their stings, with the bullet ants having one of the most painful stings in the insect world. They can also be characterized by a single segmented petiole and the constriction of the first and second segment of the gaster. They can also be identified by the shape of their head. [2]

They are most easily identified from other subfamilies by a constricted gaster (abdomen). They are rare examples of stinging ants.[3]

Genera

References
  1. Bolton, B. (2015). "Ponerinae". AntCat. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  2. "Ponerinae". AntWiki.
  3. Hoffman, Donald R. "Ant venoms" Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2010, vol. 10, pages 342-346. doi:10.1097/ACI.0b013e328339f325
  4. Dlussky, G.M.; Wedmann, S. (2012). "The poneromorph ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae: Amblyoponinae, Ectatomminae, Ponerinae) of Grube Messel, Germany: High biodiversity in the Eocene". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 10 (4): 725–753. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.628341. – via Taylor & Francis (subscription required)
  • Media related to Ponerinae at Wikimedia Commons


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