Ponera Latreille, 1804

Identification of American Species

Ponera pennsylvanica and P. exotica can be differentiated on the basis of size and sculpture. From the measurements in Taylor (1967) and our new measurements, P. pennsylvanica HW is 0.53–0.63, P. exotica HW is 0.36–0.53. The larger P. exotica are in Central America, where they are not sympatric with P. pennsylvanica . In the zone of sympatry, P. exotica are smaller, with HW no greater than 0.41 according to Taylor (1967). Ponera pennsylvanica has the pronotal dorsum more densely and distinctly punctate, with puncta diameters greater than distances between them. Ponera exotica is shinier, with smaller, more widely spaced puncta on the pronotum.