Ponerinae

Ponerinae is a subfamily of ants in the Poneromorph subfamilies group, with about 1,600 species in 47 extant genera, including Dinoponera gigantea - one of the world's largest species of ant. Mated workers have replaced the queen as the functional egg-layers in several species of ponerine ants. In such queenless species, the reproductive status of workers can only be determined through ovarian dissections. Ponerinae is a subfamily of ants within the family of Formicidae. These ants typically nest in soil, forest litter, or rotting logs, and are predacious. They primarily prey on isopods. They mostly live in small colonies of up to 200 workers. They can be found mostly in tropical environments, but have been found in southeastern Canada and New York. Female workers have twelve segmented antennae, whereas male workers have 13 segmented antennae.

Ponerinae Temporal range: Turonian-Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fighting Harpegnathos saltator
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Ponerinae Lepeletier, 1835
Type genus
Ponera Latreille, 1804
Diversity[1]
59 genera

Plectroctena sp. fighting

These ants are characterized by their stings, with the bullet ants having one of the most painful stings in the insect world. They can also be characterized by a single segmented petiole and the constriction of the first and second segment of the gaster. They can also be identified by the shape of their head. [2]

They are most easily identified from other subfamilies by a constricted gaster (abdomen). They are rare examples of stinging ants.[3]