 Queens look similar to workers, but several morphological features distinguish the two castes from each other. Although their body structure is similar to that of workers, the queens are usually larger. Ocelli are highly developed, but the eyes on the queen are not enlarged. The structure of the pterothorax (the wing-bearing area of the thorax) is consistent with other reproductive ants, although it does not occupy as much of its mesosomal bulk. The wings of the queens are reduced to the point that they are not functional (they are brachypterous). Their wings are noticeably rudimentary and stubby, barely overlapping the first gastral segment. Males resemble those of Myrmecia, but Nothomyrmecia males bear a single waist node. The wings on the male ant are not stubby like a queen's; rather they are long and fully developed, exhibiting a primitive venational complement, They have a jugal anal lobe (a portion of the hindwing), a feature found in many primitive ants, and basal hamuli (hook-like projections that link the forewings and hindwings). Most male specimens collected have two tibial spurs (spines located on the distal end of the tibia); the first spur is a long calcar while the second spur is short and thick. Adults have a stridulatory organ on the ventral side of the abdomen – unlike all other hymenopterans in which such organs are located dorsally.
