Supplementary studies on ant larvae: Simpone and Turneria.

Abstract

This study supplements our "Ant Larvae: Review and Synthesis" (1974). The larvae of Simopone n. sp. and Turneria sp. (near dahli) are described and figured and each genus is characterized. Simopone is definitely cerapachyine but quite distinct from the larvae of other known genera of the subfamily. Turneria is typically dolichoderine but readily distinguished from other genera of the subfamily by the tail and the shape and location of the dorsal bosses. SUBFAMILY CERAPACHYINAE The larva of Simopone is definitely cerapachyine. Its profile is myrmecioid like that of the other four known genera (Cerapachys, Eusphinctus, Lioponera, and Phyracaces). The mandible is sui generis and we must establish for it a new monotypic rubric "simoponoid." The small size of the mouth parts is also distinctive for the genus. In our general key for ant larvae Simopone runs to 49b in company with Cerapachys, Eusphinctus, and Phyracaces; from these it can be distinguished by the shape of the mandibles. Its index of specialization (see our 1974) is 24; that of the subfamily is 22. (The most specialized ant larvae Leptanillinae-have an index of 35, while the Ponerinae are less specialized with 17. The index for the family as a whole is 22.)