Superfamily FORMICOIDEA 1377 



Type-species: Apterocrema atilla^ii Wheeler. Monotypic. 



These ants nest in moderately large colonies under objects in the soil, in wood, in cavities of 

 plants, in insect galls, in carton nests of their own making, or even in the woodwork of buildings. 

 Most are omnivorous but show a preference for sweets and some tend honeydew excreting in- 

 sects. Some are well known house-infesting forms; others have been reported to kill young birds 

 or gnaw rubber insulation from telephone wires. North American species of this genus had been 

 separated into two subgenera, subgenus Orthocrema for arizonensis and minutissima and its 

 subspecies and subgenus Crematogaster for the remaining species. Subgenera are not recog- 

 nized here. 



Revision: Mayr, 1870. Zool.-Bot. Gesell. Wien, Verb. 20:989-996. —Emery, 1895. Zool. Jahrb., 

 Abt. f. System. 8:280-288. —Wheeler, 1919. Psyche 26:111. — Creighton, 1939. Psyche 

 46:137-140 (subg. Orthocretna). — Buren, 1968. Ga. Ent. Soc, Jour. 3:91-121 (subg. 

 Crema togas ter). 



Taxonomy: Wheeler and Wheeler, 1952. Wash. Acad. Sci., Jour. 42:258-261 (larvae). —Buren, 

 1958. N. Y. Ent. Soc, Jour. 66:119-134 (also biological notes). —Brown, 1973. In Meggers, 

 et al., Tropical Forest Ecosystems in Afr. and S. Amer., pp. 161-185 (generic syn.). 

 —Wheeler and Wheeler, 1973. Ga. Ent. Soc., Jour. 8:27-30 (larvae). 



Biology: Soulie, 1962. Insectes Sociaux 9:181-195 (colony foundation and development). 

 arizonensis Wheeler. S. Ariz. Ecology: Apparently arboreal; found nesting in mistletoe on 

 oaks. 

 Crematogaster arizonensis Wheeler, 1908. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Bui. 24:482. 5 . 



Biology: Wheeler, 1912. N. Y. Ent. Soc., Jour. 20:130-133 (also description of female, male). 

 ashmeadi Mayr. Va. to Fla., w. to Tex. Ecology: Strictly arboreal; nests in twigs and branches. 

 Crematogaster Ashmeadi Mayr, 1886. Zool.-Bot. CJesell. Wien, Verb. 36:463. 5, cJ. 

 Crematogaster (Acrocoelia) ashmeadi var. mxitura Wheeler, 1932. N. Y. Ent. Soc., Jour. 

 40:8. 5. 



Taxonomy: Wheeler, 1932. N. Y. Ent. Soc., Jour. 40:8. 



Biology: Smith, 1924. Ent. News 35:79. —Cole, 1940. Amer. Midland Nat. 24:46. —Smith, 

 1965. U. S. Dept. Agr., Tech. Bui. 1326:28-29 (economic importance). — Leuthold, 1968. 

 Psyche 75:233-248 (tibial gland scent-trail and trail-laying behavior). —Leuthold, 1968. 

 Psyche 75:334-350 (recruitment to food). 

 atkinsoni Wheeler. N. C. s. to Fla., w. to Miss. Ecology: Common in coastal salt-grass marshes 



where they often build large carton nests on sedges or bushes. Nests are sometimes a 



foot and a half or more above the ground and range in size from the diameter of an egg 



to that of a human head. 

 Crematogaster atkinsoni Wheeler, 1919. Psyche 26:108. 5 . 

 Crematogaster atkinsoni var. helveola Wheeler, 1919. Psyche 26:109. 9 (9, cJ misdet.). 



The female and male are C. ashmeadi. 



Biology: Atkinson, 1887. Amer. Nat. 21:770-771. —Smith, 1930. Fla. Ent. 14:4-5. —Wheeler, 

 1932. N. Y. Ent. Soc., Jour. 40:8-9. 

 browni Buren. W. Tex., N. Mex., s. Ariz. Ecology: In mountains, usually over 5(X)0 ft.; nests 

 have been found under rocks. 

 Creynatogaster brmuni Buren, 1968. Ga. Ent. Soc., Jour. 3:100. 5,9. 

 califomica Emery. S. Calif.; Mexico. Ecology: Nests in soil in desert or semidesert habitats; 

 found at bases and on roots of various plants cultivating aphids and coccids. Males are 

 unusuaUy large for this genus. 

 Crematogaster lineolata laeviuscula var. califomica Emery, 1895. ZooL Jahrb., Abt. f. 

 System. 8:285. 9 . 



Taxonomy: Wheeler, 1934. Pan-Pacific Ent. 10:135-136. 



Biology: Mallis, 1941. South. Calif. Acad. Sci., Bui. 40:70. —Wheeler and Wheeler, 1973. Ants 

 of Deep Canyon, pp. 87-88. 



