Volume //.] October, lyoo. [No. /. 



BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN. 



A STUDY OF SOME TEXAN PONERINAE. 1 



WILLIAM MORTON WHEELER. 



THE observations hitherto published on the habits of the 

 Ponerine subfamily of ants are extremely meager. This gap 

 in our knowledge of ant life must be the more keenly felt by all 

 myrmecologists because the Ponerinae (including the Cera- 

 pachyi, a group allied to the Dorylinae, or driver ants) are, 

 to all appearances at least, the most generalized of existing 

 Formicidae. That the Ponerinae have a very primitive mor- 

 phological and social organization seems to be indicated by the 

 facts, first, that their colonies are composed of a relatively small 

 number of individuals - - like the incipient colonies of the more 

 specialized Myrmicine and Formicine ants, and, second, that the 

 polymorphism of the female is still, apparently, in an unstable 

 condition, i.e., the workers often differ little if any from the 

 queens, or females, in form and size, and the two phases are fre- 

 quently connected by individuals of an intermediate character 

 (ergatoid, or ergatomorphic females). It has also been sus- 

 pected by Professor Forel and Professor Emery that the breed- 

 ing habits of the Ponerinae would be found to be of a primitive 

 nature. 



The common occurrence of three beautiful species of 

 Ponerinae in the environs of Austin, Texas, has induced me to 

 undertake the following study of their habits. The ants were 

 observed in a state of nature or kept in jars of earth or in 



1 Contributions from the Zoological Laboratory of the University of Texas. 



Director, W. M. Wheeler. No. 6. 



i 



