Notes on Ant Larvae: Ponerinae

Abstract

-The larvae of four species of ants in the genera Platythyrea, Plectroctena and Streblognathus are described. The larvae of Streblognathus and Simopelta are characterized for the first time. Included also are a few additional references to ponerine larvae found in the literature. Most of this article is the result of a gift of the larvae of four species of African ants from Martin Villet of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. All these larvae seem weird even to seasoned students of 800 species in 200 genera. Streblognathus, which has never been previously studied has unique maxillae and tubercles, which are queer even in a tribe noted for peculiar tubercles. Platythyrea lamellosa has hairs which are unique among all known ant larvae; in fact, if they did not have alveolus and articular membrane we would call them tubercles. Even among tubercles they would be unique. Plectroctena conjugata has about 1,600 tubercles, which exceeds by far the number in any other species of ant larvae. Because of Brown's 1975 revision of Platythyrea the nomenclature of the species we have studied has become quite confused. The following changes should therefore be made:-australis in 1971 becomes parallela; incerta in 1971 becomes pilosula; Eubothroponera tasmaniensis in 1971 becomes Platythyrea turneri. Under MATE RIAL STUDIED in our 1976b Memoir (p. 97) change australis Forel to parallela (F. Smith) and incerta Emery to pilosula (F. Smith). In our Ten-Year Supplement (1 986b) under MATERIAL STUDIED (p. 699) delete tasmaniensis (Forel) and "de lete australis, incerta." To summarize, the six species of Platythyrea that we have studied previously are cribrinodis (Gerstiicker), inermis Forel, modesta Forel, par allela (F. Smith), pilosula (F. Smith) and turneri Forel. In 1976a (p. 59) we used the name Plectroctena sp. It should be changed to Plec troctena cryptica Bolton. We described a mature larva of one species of Simopone in 1986a, but we did not characterize the genus, because we hoped that someone would send us the mature larva of another species. Thus far we have hoped in vain. The terms used below for describing profiles and mandible shapes are defined in our 1976 Memoir. Whenever we refer to our own publications we give only the year.