Forel considers _Myrmecia_ to be the most formidable of all the ants; the hills are said to be sometimes five feet high, and the colonies are immense in numbers, while the Insect is an inch or more in length, and armed with a very powerful sting, the use of which on the human body is said to give rise in some cases to serious symptoms. On the other hand, we have seen statements to the effect that the sting of _Myrmecia_ has only very evanescent sequelae; it is also said that the ant-hills have only a slight elevation, so that probably both these points differ according to the species. It appears from a communication of Miss Shepherd's that the formidable _Myrmecia forficata_ has its larvae destroyed by a parasitic Hymenopteron (_Eucharis myrmeciae_) of brilliant colour and considerable size, so that we have the curious fact of the hordes of this most formidably armed ant, which possesses also large eyes, falling a victim to a brilliant and very conspicuous Insect. Particulars of this case of parasitic attack are still wanting. There are other cases known of the larvae of ants being destroyed by parasitic Diptera and Hymenoptera, but in none of them have any sufficient observations been made as to the mode in which the attack is made. Lowne says that _M. gulosa_ itself attacks large beetles of the genus _Anoplognathus_ and buries them; and he also adds the very curious statement that _M. nigrocincta_, when running, is able to take leaps of a foot in length. The Odontomachi were formerly considered a distinct sub-family, distinguished by the peculiar mandibles (Fig. 77). {174}Many of the Ponerides have elongate mandibles, but they are inserted at the sides of the front of the head, not in the middle of the front. These organs in some species of Odontomachi serve as levers, by aid of which the Insect can execute considerable leaps. In only a few species are the males known; Mayr and Forel state that they are destitute of the peculiar mandibles characteristic of the worker. [Illustration: Fig. 77—_Anochetus ghiliani_, worker. Tangier.] The unique European representative of the Odontomachi, _Anochetus ghiliani_, occurs in Andalusia. Near Tangier Mr. George Lewis found it to be not uncommon; but the sexes are not known, and it even appears doubtful whether there exists any well-marked division between workers and female. Lewis observed, among the ordinary forms, individuals with longer bodies, usually one in a nest, and he supposed these to be females; Saunders, on examining these examples, found them to possess distinct ocelli, and therefore agreed with Lewis as to their being the female sex. Dr. Emery subsequently examined these same specimens, and took what is scarcely a different view, viz. that they are not females but an intermediate form; and he also expressed the opinion that "the true female may not exist." The male of _Anochetus_ is not known. The female of _A. mayri_, a Neotropical species, has rudimentary wings.