In ants, the traditional subfamily Ponerinae

Ponerinae

Ponerinae is a subfamily of ants in the Poneromorph subfamilies group, with about 1,600 species in 28 extant genera, including Dinoponera gigantea - one of the world's largest species of ant....

 has recently been divided up into several Poneromorph subfamilies, with several former tribe

Tribe

A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...

s now elevated to subfamily rank by the British myrmecologist Barry Bolton

Barry Bolton

Barry Bolton is an English myrmecologist, the world's leading expert on the classification, systematics and taxonomy of ants, who long worked at The Natural History Museum...

.

Bolton's careful analysis shows that some ponerine groups may be more closely related to other subfamilies than to each other.

Bolton's subfamilies of "poneromorph" Formicidae

Ant

Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...

 include:

• Amblyoponinae
• Ectatomminae (this one, and possibly the next, apparently related to the widely distributed and highly diverse Myrmicinae
  Myrmicinae
  Myrmicinae is a subfamily of ants. There are about 140 genera within the group, with the family being cosmopolitan. The pupae lack cocoons. Some species retain a functional sting. The petioles of Myrmicinae consist of two nodes...
  
  )
• Heteroponerinae
• Paraponerinae (possibly related to Myrmeciinae
  Myrmeciinae
  The Myrmeciinae is a subfamily of the Formicidae that was once found worldwide but is now restricted to Australia and New Caledonia. This subfamily is one of several ant subfamilies which possess gamergates, female worker ants which are able to mate and reproduce, thus sustaining the colony after...
  
   - Australian bulldog ants)
• Ponerinae
  Ponerinae
  Ponerinae is a subfamily of ants in the Poneromorph subfamilies group, with about 1,600 species in 28 extant genera, including Dinoponera gigantea - one of the world's largest species of ant....
  
   (in a much more restricted sense)
• Proceratiinae.

Long considered primitive on the basis of retention of a typical hymenoptera

Hymenoptera

Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...

n sting

Stinger

-Biology:* Stinger, an organ or body part found in various animals that usually delivers some kind of venom.* Stinger , a minor neurological injury suffered by athletes.-Sports and entertainment:...

 and pupa

Pupa

A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...

e in cocoons, some groups among the poneromorphs exhibit considerable specialization in predatory habits and mandibular form.

These two evolutionary developments are often, but not necessarily, seen in association: elongated mandibles with modified teeth for handling large and potentially toxic prey in Amblyopone

Amblyopone

Amblyopone is a genus of amblyoponine ants.-Description:Workers of Amblyopone have a well-developed sting, elongate mandibles and reduced or absent eyes...

and Thaumatomyrmex

Thaumatomyrmex

Thaumatomyrmex is a genus of ants, containing the following species:* Thaumatomyrmex atrox Weber, 1939* Thaumatomyrmex bariay Fontenla, 1995* Thaumatomyrmex cochlearis Creighton, 1928* Thaumatomyrmex contumax Kempf, 1975...

, and strongly modified "snap-jaws" and associated musculature in the generalized predator Odontomachus

Odontomachus

Odontomachus is a genus of carnivorous ants found in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world.-Overview:Commonly known as trap-jaw ants, species in Odontomachus have a pair of large, straight mandibles capable of opening 180 degrees...

.

Most poneromorphs appear to have lost the taste for sweets (nectar, fruit) typical of adult stinging Hymenoptera

Hymenoptera

Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...

, and this should probably also be considered an evolutionary "advancement". Foraging for extrafloral nectar and honeydew

Honeydew (secretion)

Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky liquid, secreted by aphids and some scale insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the gut's terminal opening. Honeydew is particularly common as a secretion in the Hemipteran...

 from Homoptera

Homoptera

Homoptera is a deprecated suborder of order Hemiptera; recent morphological studies and DNA analysis strongly suggests that the order is paraphyletic. It was therefore split into the suborders Sternorrhyncha, Auchenorrhyncha, and Coleorrhyncha....

has been retained in Ectatomminae and Paraponerinae, but was perhaps secondarily re-acquired in Odontomachus of the Ponerinae.