I am putting the finishing touches to a "Synoptic Classification of Formicidae". This gives a taxonomic history of every formicid name (subgenus to family, both extant and extinct) together with a full bibliography of every paper that has contributed to our understanding of any name. There is a character-based new synoptic classification of all Formicidae for the ranks of subfamily and tribe, stressing apomorphic characters where they are assured or strongly suspected, and giving inclusive diagnoses where apomorphies are not assured or limits of particular taxa remain a bit vague. Groups of subfamilies/tribes are also diagnosed by apomorphies where possible, but no formal phylogeny is proposed as I think there are some rather weak areas still remaining. The object of the exercise has been to establish identity, as accurately as is currently possible, for each subfamily and tribe in the family, so remaining weaknesses are discussed.
      Of course, all this has meant some modification to the current system at all levels, from genus on up. Some new taxa have been proposed and some old ones have vanished into synonymy. I have had to add four appendices to enlarge on certain aspects. The first deals with necessary adjustments at genus rank, mostly clarifying the status and diagnoses of some genera and establishing a few very obvious new synonyms. I am quite proud of the second appendix, which is a table showing antennomere number, palp formula, total dental count and spur formula for every living ant genus. The third appendix indicates what I consider to be the plesiomorphic state of lots of characters, sort of a mind's-eye view of what a completely plesiomorphic ant would look like. The final appendix merely indicates when various taxa first appeared in the fossil record and their distribution in time.

Barry Bolton
Department of Entomology
The Natural History Museum