Ant colonies > Ant body parts > Ant wings

Ant wings

The wings on ants have not been used to as great an extent in descriptive works as in those on other families of Hymenoptera, owing to their frequent absence in female specimens and to the permanently apterous condition of the workers which have hitherto formed the basis of our systematic study.

The venation of the fore wings, however, often exhibits important generic or even specific characters and its study, especially in fossil ants, is indispensable. It is sometimes highly variable in detail, even in males and females reared from the same mother.

Several of the different types of venation which have been recognized are represented in the accompanying illustrations, to which the reader is referred for the names and disposition of the various veins and cells.