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I was afraid this challenge was too obscure, but Nugi81 says it was too easy. He figured out the correct identification right away: Pachycondyla. The only Pachycondyla reported for Georgia is P. chinensis, which seems a good match for my specimen.

Here is the whole ant:



Mounted image:




A Survey of Ground Dwelling Ants in Georgia or PDF version by Ipser, Brinkman, Gardner, and Peeler has a list of species found in their two year survey, as well as a list of recorded species they did not find. The Online Catalog of North American Ants lists a few additional species that Ipser et al left off their lists (such as Leptogenys elongata).

Starting from these lists, by a process of elimination:



1. Presence of a sting eliminates subfamilies Formicinae and Dolichoderinae.
2. Presence of a pectinate tibial spur eliminates subfamily Myrmicinae.
3. Presence of a second, simple tibial spur eliminates subfamilies Pseudomyrmecinae and Ecitoninae (Genus Nievamyrmex, the only member of Ecitoninae found in Georgia, lacks the second spur).
4. The shape and position of the gaster eliminates subfamily Proceratiinae (genus Proceratium in Georgia), whose gaster curves forward. The position of the gaster tip also eliminates subfamily Amblyoponinae (Amblypone pallipes is recorded from Georgia), because Amblypone's short legs won't stretch that far past its long gaster.

That leaves subfamily Ponerinae.

Among Ponerinae, the second tibial spur (3) eliminates Hypoponera and Ponera, and the simple pretarsal claws (5) elimintates Leptogenys, leaving Pachycondyla, Odontomachus, and Cryptopone, with the following species recorded from Georgia:
Cryptopone gilva
Odontomachus brunneus
Odontomachus ruginodis (not listed in Ipser et al)
Pachycondyla chinensis

All three species have the two tibial spurs, a sting, and simple pretarsal claws. If you guessed that the blue lines (6) in the image are a 1mm grid, you might eliminate both Odontomachus species, which larger than NTA 70. Compare color, gaster shape, leg length, and pilosity for Cryptopone gilva and Pachycondyla chinensis to arrive at the correct identification for NTA 70.

Nugi81, was this really too easy?

H