1985] 
Wilson — Cretaceous and Eocene amber ants 
207 
Fig. 1. Sphecomyrma canadensis, holotype worker: A, frontal view of head: B, 
left antenna, dorsal view; C, gaster, petiole, and left rear leg, with enlarged views of 
the rear-leg tibial comb and spur and tip of abdomen (showing the extruded sting); 
D, left front tarsus. 
These are the first ants recorded from the Canadian amber, des- 
pite the fact that thousands of pieces containing large numbers of 
insects of diverse orders have been processed since the late nine- 
teenth century (Carpenter et al, 1937; Rice, 1980). The holotype 
(and by inference the paratype) is so close to S.freyi in key charac- 
ters that it can be placed with certainty in the Sphecomyrminae and 
with reasonable confidence in Sphecomyrma, providing we use the 
same anatomical standards by which the modern subfamilies and 
genera of ants are distinguished. The resemblance is well marked, 
