112 
Psyche 
[September 
Cerapachyine larvae most nearly resemble the larvae of the 
Dorylinae. Both types have an elongate subcylindrical body with 
the head at the anterior end; rather feebly sclerotized mandibles, 
which are typically elongate and slender and have the medial border 
denticulate in part ; inconspicuous maxillary palps ; and the tro- 
phorhinium wanting or poorly developed. They differ in that dory- 
line larvae are a little stouter and more nearly straight, have more 
hairs on the head and have smaller mouth parts. 
Cerapachyine larvae also show a marked resemblance in body 
shape to the larvae of the ponerine genus Myrmecia. The larvae of 
this genus have the posterior half of the body noticeably stouter 
than in the Cerapachyinae, but there is a gradual attenuation from 
behind forward; hence there is no sharply defined “neck” which is 
characteristic of the higher Ponerinae. Wheeler considered the 
adults of Myrmecia to be eminently primitive and generalized and 
the larvae the most primitive of existing Formicidae. 
It seems therefore that the following hypothesis might be justified. 
The larva of Myrmecia represents an ancestral formicid type. 
From this type, by differentiation into a large “body” and a slender 
curved “neck”, the higher Ponerinae evolved. But before this dif- 
ferentiation occurred, a side branch was formed, the larvae of which 
became more attenuated posteriorly. This line led to the Cerapachy- 
inae. A secondary offshoot from it gave rise (through straightening 
of the larval body) to the Dorylinae. 
This study, then, supports Wheeler’s conclusion (see above) 
that the Cerapachyinae are intermediate between the Ponerinae 
and the Dorylinae and also tends to confirm his diagram (1920, p. 
52) of the phylogenetic relationships of the subfamilies of Form- 
icidae. 
A Bibliography of the Larvae of the Cerapachyinae 
Emery, C. 
1899. Intorno alle larve di alcune formiche. Mem. R. Accad. Sci. 1st. 
Bologna (5) 8: 1-8. 2 pi. 
1911. Fam. Formicidae, Subfam. Ponerinae. Genera Insectorum Fasc. 
118: 125 p., 3 pi. 
Wheeler, G. C. 
1938. Are ant larvae apodous? Psyche 45: 139-145, 2 pi. 
Wheeler, W. M. 
1903. Some notes on the habits of Cerapachys augustae. Psyche 10: 
205-209, 1 fig. 
1910. Ants, their structure, development and behavior, xxv+663 p., 
286 fig. New York: Columbia University Press. 
