Ponera

Ponera is a genus of ponerine ants. The name is the Latinized form (Ponēra) of the Ancient Greek  (πονηρά, 'wicked, wretched').

Description
Workers are very small to small in size (1–4 mm); queen are similar to workers but winged. This genus is very similar to Cryptopone, Hypoponera and Pachycondyla.

Biology
Ponera nests contain less than 100 workers in protected places on the ground, most often in the soil or in cracks, rotten wood, under bark or moss on rotten logs.

Distribution
Ponera is known from the Holarctic, Samoa, New Guinea and Australia.

Species



 * Ponera alisana Terayama, 1986
 * Ponera alpha Taylor, 1967
 * Ponera augusta Taylor, 1967
 * Ponera bableti Perrault, 1993
 * Ponera baka Xu, 2001
 * Ponera bawana Xu, 2001
 * Ponera bishamon Terayama, 1996
 * Ponera borneensis Taylor, 1967
 * Ponera chapmani Taylor, 1967
 * Ponera chiponensis Terayama, 1986
 * Ponera clavicornis Emery, 1900
 * Ponera coarctata (Latreille, 1802)
 * Ponera colaensis Mann, 1921
 * Ponera diodonta Xu, 2001
 * †Ponera elegantissima Meunier, 1923
 * Ponera elegantula Wilson, 1957
 * Ponera exotica Smith, 1962
 * Ponera guangxiensis Zhou, 2001
 * Ponera hubeiensis Wang & Zhao, 2009
 * Ponera incerta (Wheeler, 1933)
 * Ponera indica Bharti & Wachkoo, 2012
 * Ponera japonica Wheeler, 1906
 * Ponera kohmoku Terayama, 1996
 * Ponera leae Forel, 1913
 * †Ponera leptocephala Emery, 1891
 * †Ponera lobulifera Dlussky, 2009
 * Ponera loi Taylor, 1967
 * Ponera longlina Xu, 2001
 * Ponera manni Taylor, 1967
 * †Ponera mayri Dlussky, 2009
 * Ponera menglana Xu, 2001
 * Ponera nangongshana Xu, 2001
 * Ponera norfolkensis Wheeler, 1935
 * Ponera oreas (Wheeler, 1933)
 * Ponera paedericera Zhou, 2001
 * Ponera pennsylvanica Buckley, 1866
 * Ponera pentodontos Xu, 2001
 * Ponera petila Wilson, 1957
 * Ponera pianmana Xu, 2001
 * Ponera rishen Terayama, 2009
 * Ponera ruficornis Spinola, 1851
 * Ponera scabra Wheeler, 1928
 * Ponera selenophora Emery, 1900
 * Ponera shennong Terayama, 2009
 * Ponera sikkimensis Bharti & Rilta, 2015
 * Ponera sinensis Wheeler, 1928
 * Ponera swezeyi (Wheeler, 1933)
 * Ponera syscena Wilson, 1957
 * Ponera sysphinctoides Bernard, 1950
 * Ponera szaboi Wilson, 1957
 * Ponera szentivanyi Wilson, 1957
 * Ponera taipingensis Forel, 1913
 * Ponera taiyangshen Terayama, 2009
 * Ponera takaminei Terayama, 1996
 * Ponera tamon Terayama, 1996
 * Ponera taylori Bharti & Wachkoo, 2012
 * Ponera tenuis (Emery, 1900)
 * Ponera terayamai Leong, Guénard, Shiao & Lin, 2019
 * Ponera testacea Emery, 1895
 * Ponera tudigong Pierce, Leong & Guénard, 2019
 * †Ponera wheeleri Dlussky, 2009
 * Ponera woodwardi Taylor, 1967
 * Ponera wui Leong, Guénard, Shiao & Lin, 2019
 * Ponera xantha Xu, 2001
 * Ponera xenagos Wilson, 1957
 * Ponera yuhuang Terayama, 2009