Wheeler, William Morton (1865-1937)

Biographical Note
Born as the son of Julius Morton and Caroline Georgiana Wheeler (née Anderson) in Milwaukee, he was transferred from public school to a local German academy due to, in his own words, "persistently bad behavior". They had a small museum which Wheeler had studied since he was a child, and when Ward's Natural Science Establishment in early 1884 brought a collection of stuffed and skeletonized animals to the academy, to persuade the city fathers to purchase them, Wheeler volunteered to spend the nights in helping Ward to unpack and install the specimens. The latter was so impressed that he offered Wheeler a job in his Rochester, New York establishment. Here he identified birds and mammals, and later collections of shells, echinoderms and sponges. His shell catalogue was still in use by collectors in the late 1920s.

Wheeler was trained as an insect embryologist, having studied under Baur, Dohrn and Whitman, but he became the leading authority on the behaviour of social insects, achieving particular renown for his studies of social behaviour of ants. He was instrumental in the development of ethology and first popularized the term in a 1902 paper in Science.

He was a taxonomist of the highest order, and was responsible for the descriptions of innumerable species, among them Pogonomyrmex maricopa, the most venomous insect in the world. Professor Wheeler was curator of invertebrate zoology in the American Museum of Natural History, New York, from 1903 to 1908. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

A close contact of the British myrmecologist and coleopterist Horace Donisthorpe, it was to Wheeler that Donisthorpe dedicated his first major book on ants in 1915. Donisthorpe and Wheeler also frequently exchanged specimens, leading the latter to first develop the idea that the Formicinae subfamily had its origins in North America.

He was professor of applied biology at Harvard University's Bussey Institute, which had one of the most highly regarded biology programs in the United States. One of his pupils there was Alfred Kinsey.

His work includes 467 titles

Wheeler began his study of ants while he was a professor of zoology at the University of Texas at Austin (1899–1903), and he greatly extended the scope of his research after becoming curator of invertebrate zoology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City (1903–08). His investigations dealt particularly with ant taxonomy, morphology, and distribution as well as with ecology, habits, and social relations. He discovered that the social behaviour of ants was among the most complex in the insect world, leading him to use the ant colony as a behavioural analogy for human civilization. His findings were based on firsthand observations of ant species collected from all over the world, including Morocco, the Galapagos, and the Canary Islands.

Later in his career (1930), Wheeler made an important study of the biology of the antlion, the larvae of the neuropteran family Myrmeleontidae.

Student, German-English Academy, Milwaukee, ?-1883

Assistant, Ward's Natural Science Establishment, Rochester, 1884-1885

Teacher, German-English Academy, Milwaukee, 1885-1887

Researcher, Allis Lake Laboratory, 1886-1890

Director, Milwaukee Public Museum, 1887-1890

Summer research at Woods Hole, 1889-1892, 1894, 1898, 1900, etc.

Ph.D. student, Clark University, 1890-1892

Professor, Department of Zoology, University of Chicago, 1892-1899

Research in Münich, Naples, Liège, 1893-1894

Chairman, Department of Zoology, University of Texas, Austin, 1899-1903

American Museum of Natural History, 1903-1908

Harvard University, 1908-1937

Ant Taxonomy
Wheeler published 252 ant taxonomic papers during his lifetime. He published from 1900 until 1942.

Taxonomic Publications

 * Wheeler, W. M. 1900a. The female of Eciton sumichrasti Norton, with some notes on the habits of Texan Ecitons. Am. Nat. 34: 563-574


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1900b. A study of some Texan Ponerinae. Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole) 2: 1-31


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1901a. The compound and mixed nests of American ants. Part I. Observations on a new guest ant. Am. Nat. 35: 431-448


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1901c. The compound and mixed nests of American ants. Part II. The known cases of social symbiosis among American ants. Am. Nat. 35: 513-539


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1901e. The compound and mixed nests of American ants. Part II (continued). Am. Nat. 35: 701-724


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1902a. A new agricultural ant from Texas, with remarks on the known North American species. Am. Nat. 36: 85-100


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1902b. Formica fusca Linn. subsp. subpolita Mayr, var. perpilosa, n. var. Mem. Rev. Soc. Cient. "Antonio Alzate" 17: 141-142


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1902d. New agricultural ants from Texas. Psyche (Camb.) 9: 387-393


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1902e. An American Cerapachys, with remarks on the affinities of the Cerapachyinae. Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole) 3: 181-191


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1902f. The occurrence of Formica cinerea Mayr and Formica rufibarbis Fabricius in America. Am. Nat. 36: 947-952


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1902g. A consideration of S. B. Buckley's "North American Formicidae.". Trans. Tex. Acad. Sci. 4: 17-31


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1903a. Erebomyrma, a new genus of hypogaeic ants from Texas. Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole) 4: 137-148


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1903c. A decad of Texan Formicidae. Psyche (Camb.) 10: 93-111


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1903d. A revision of the North American ants of the genus Leptothorax Mayr. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 55: 215-260


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1903f. The North American ants of the genus Stenamma sensu stricto. Psyche (Camb.) 10: 164-168


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1903g. Extraordinary females in three species of Formica, with remarks on mutation in the Formicidae. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 19: 639-651


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1903h. Some new gynandromorphous ants, with a review of the previously recorded cases. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 19: 653-683


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1903j. Some notes on the habits of Ceraphachys augustae. Psyche (Camb.) 10: 205-209


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1904a. Three new genera of inquiline ants from Utah and Colorado. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 20: 1-17


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1904c. The American ants of the subgenus Colobopsis. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 20: 139-158


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1904d. A crustacean-eating ant (Leptogenys elongata Buckley). Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole) 6: 251-259


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1904e. Ants from Catalina Island, California. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 20: 269-271


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1904f. The ants of North Carolina. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 20: 299-306


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1904i. A new type of social parasitism among ants. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 20: 347-375


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1905a. An interpretation of the slave-making instincts in ants. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 21: 1-16


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1905c. The ants of the Bahamas, with a list of the known West Indian species. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 21: 79-135


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1905d. New species of Formica. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 21: 267-274


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1905g. The North American ants of the genus Dolichoderus. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 21: 305-319


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1905h. The North American ants of the genus Liometopum. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 21: 321-333


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1905j. An annotated list of the ants of New Jersey. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 21: 371-403


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1906e. On the founding of colonies by queen ants, with special reference to the parasitic and slave-making species. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 22: 33-105


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1906f. New ants from New England. Psyche (Camb.) 13: 38-41


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1906g. Fauna of New England. 7. List of the Formicidae. Occas. Pap. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 7: 1-24


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1906h. The ants of Japan. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 22: 301-328


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1906i. The ants of the Grand Cañon. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 22: 329-345


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1906j. The ants of the Bermudas. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 22: 347-352


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1907b. A collection of ants from British Honduras. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 23: 271-277


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1907c. Notes on a new guest-ant, Leptothorax glacialis, and the varieties of Myrmica brevinodis Emery. Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc. 5: 70-83


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1907d. The fungus-growing ants of North America. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 23: 669-807


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1908a. The ants of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 24: 117-158


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1908b. The ants of Jamaica. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 24: 159-163


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1908c. Ants from Moorea, Society Islands. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 24: 165-167


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1908g. Honey ants, with a revision of the American Myrmecocysti. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 24: 345-397


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1908h. The ants of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. (Part I.). Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 24: 399-485


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1908i. The ants of Casco Bay, Maine, with observations on two races of Formica sanguinea Latreille. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 24: 619-645


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1908k. Comparative ethology of the European and North American ants. J. Psychol. Neurol. 13: 404-435


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1909a. A small collection of ants from Victoria, Australia. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 17: 25-29


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1909b. Ants collected by Prof. F. Silvestri in Mexico. Boll. Lab. Zool. Gen. Agrar. R. Sc. Super. Agric. 3: 228-238


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1909c. Ants collected by Professor Filippo Silvestri in the Hawaiian Islands. Boll. Lab. Zool. Gen. Agrar. R. Sc. Super. Agric. 3: 269-272


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1909d. Ants of Formosa and the Philippines. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 26: 333-345


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1909e. A decade of North American Formicidae. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 17: 77-90


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1909f. A new honey ant from California. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 17: 98-99


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1909g. Observations on some European ants. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 17: 172-187


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1910b. Ants: their structure, development and behavior. New York: Columbia University Press, xxv + 663 pp.


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1910d. Three new genera of myrmicine ants from tropical America. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 28: 259-265


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1910e. An aberrant Lasius from Japan. Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole) 19: 130-137


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1910f. A new species of Aphomomyrmex from Borneo. Psyche (Camb.) 17: 131-135


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1910g. The North American ants of the genus Camponotus Mayr. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 20: 295-354


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1910h. The North American forms of Lasius umbratus Nylander. Psyche (Camb.) 17: 235-243


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1910i. The North American forms of Camponotus fallax Nylander. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 18: 216-232


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1911a. Additions to the ant-fauna of Jamaica. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 30: 21-29


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1911b. Ants collected in Grenada, W. I. by Mr. C. T. Brues. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 54: 167-172


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1911c. Three formicid names which have been overlooked. Science (N. Y.) (n.s.) 33: 858-860


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1911d. A new Camponotus from California. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 19: 96-98


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1911e. Two fungus-growing ants from Arizona. Psyche (Camb.) 18: 93-101


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1911g. A list of the type species of the genera and subgenera of Formicidae. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 21: 157-175


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1911i. Descriptions of some new fungus-growing ants from Texas, with Mr. C. G. Hartman's observations on their habits. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 19: 245-255


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1911k. Three new ants from Mexico and Central America. Psyche (Camb.) 18: 203-208


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1912a. The ants of Guam. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 20: 44-48


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1912b. Notes on a mistletoe ant. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 20: 130-133


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1912c. New names for some ants of the genus Formica. Psyche (Camb.) 19: 90


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1912e. Additions to our knowledge of the ants of the genus Myrmecocystus Wesmael. Psyche (Camb.) 19: 172-181


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1912f. The male of Eciton vagans Olivier. Psyche (Camb.) 19: 206-207


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1913a. Corrections and additions to "List of type species of the genera and subgenera of Formicidae". Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 23: 77-83


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1913b. The ants of Cuba. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 54: 477-505


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1913c. [Untitled. Description of Iridomyrmex humilis Mayr.]. Pp. 27-29 in: Newell, W., Barber, T. C. The Argentine ant. U. S. Dep. Agric. Bur. Entomol. Bull. 122:1-98.


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1913d. Ants collected in Georgia by Dr. J. C. Bradley and Mr. W. T. Davis. Psyche (Camb.) 20: 112-117


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1913e. Ants collected in the West Indies. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 32: 239-244


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1913f. Zoological results of the Abor Expedition, 1911-1912, XVII. Hymenoptera, II: Ants (Formicidae). Rec. Indian Mus. 8: 233-237


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1913i. A revision of the ants of the genus Formica (Linné) Mayr. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 53: 379-565


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1914a. Gynandromorphous ants described during the decade 1903-1913. Am. Nat. 48: 49-56


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1914b. Formica exsecta in Japan. Psyche (Camb.) 21: 26-27


 * [[Media:1914c.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1914c. Ants collected by W. M. Mann in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 22: 37-61 PDF]]


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1914d. Note on the habits of Liomyrmex. Psyche (Camb.) 21: 75-76


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1914e. The American species of Myrmica allied to M. rubida Latreille. Psyche (Camb.) 21: 118-122


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1914f. New and little known harvesting ants of the genus Pogonomyrmex. Psyche (Camb.) 21: 149-157


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1915a. Neomyrma versus Oreomyrma. A correction. Psyche (Camb.) 22: 50


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1915b. Some additions to the North American ant-fauna. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 34: 389-421


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1915c. Paranomopone, a new genus of ponerine ants from Queensland. Psyche (Camb.) 22: 117-120


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1915e. The Australian honey-ants of the genus Leptomyrmex Mayr. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 51: 255-286


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1915f. Two new genera of myrmicine ants from Brasil. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 59: 483-491


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1915g. A new bog-inhabiting variety of Formica fusca L. Psyche (Camb.) 22: 203-206


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1915h. Hymenoptera. [In "Scientific notes on an expedition into the north-western regions of South Australia".]. Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 39: 805-823


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1915i [1914]. The ants of the Baltic Amber. Schr. Phys.-Ökon. Ges. Königsb. 55: 1-142


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1916a. The Australian ants of the genus Onychomyrmex. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 60: 45-54


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1916b. Four new and interesting ants from the mountains of Borneo and Luzon. Proc. N. Engl. Zool. Club 6: 9-18


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1916c. Ants collected in British Guiana by the expedition of the American Museum of Natural History during 1911. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 35: 1-14


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1916f. Ants collected in Trinidad by Professor Roland Thaxter, Mr. F. W. Urich, and others. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 60: 323-330


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1916g. Some new formicid names. Psyche (Camb.) 23: 40-41


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1916i. Two new ants from Texas and Arizona. Proc. N. Engl. Zool. Club 6: 29-35


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1916j. Note on the Brazilian fire-ant, Solenopsis saevissima F. Smith. Psyche (Camb.) 23: 142-143


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1916k. An anomalous blind worker ant. Psyche (Camb.) 23: 143-145


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1916m. Prodiscothyrea, a new genus of ponerine ants from Queensland. Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 40: 33-37


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1916n. The Australian ants of the genus Aphaenogaster Mayr. Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 40: 213-223


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1916o. Questions of nomenclature connected with the ant genus Lasius and its subgenera. Psyche (Camb.) 23: 168-173


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1916p. Ants carried in a floating log from the Brazilian mainland to San Sebastian Island. Psyche (Camb.) 23: 180-183


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1916r. Formicoidea. Formicidae. Pp. 577-601 in: Viereck, H. L. Guide to the insects of Connecticut. Part III. The Hymenoptera, or wasp-like insects, of Connecticut. Conn. State Geol. Nat. Hist. Surv. Bull. 22:1-824.


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1917a. The mountain ants of western North America. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 52: 457-569


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1917b. The phylogenetic development of subapterous and apterous castes in the Formicidae. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 3: 109-117


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1917c. The North American ants described by Asa Fitch. Psyche (Camb.) 24: 26-29


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1917d. A new Malayan ant of the genus Prodiscothyrea. Psyche (Camb.) 24: 29-30


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1917e. The ants of Alaska. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 61: 13-23


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1917f. The Australian ant-genus Myrmecorhynchus (Ern. André) and its position in the subfamily Camponotinae. Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 41: 14-19


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1917g. Jamaican ants collected by Prof. C. T. Brues. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 61: 457-471


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1917h. The temporary social parasitism of Lasius subumbratus Viereck. Psyche (Camb.) 24: 167-176


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1917k. A list of Indiana ants. Proc. Indiana Acad. Sci. 26: 460-466


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1918a. The Australian ants of the ponerine tribe Cerapachyini. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 53: 215-265


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1918b. Ants collected in British Guiana by Mr. C. William Beebe. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 26: 23-28


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1918c. A study of some ant larvae, with a consideration of the origin and meaning of the social habit among insects. Proc. Am. Philos. Soc. 57: 293-343


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1918d. The ants of the genus Opisthopsis Emery. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 62: 341-362


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1919a. Two gynandromorphous ants. Psyche (Camb.) 26: 1-8


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1919b. A new subspecies of Aphaenogaster treatae Forel. Psyche (Camb.) 26: 50


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1919d. Expedition of the California Academy of Sciences to the Galapagos Islands, 1905-1906. XIV. The ants of the Galapagos Islands. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. (4)2(2 2: 259-297


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1919e. Expedition of the California Academy of Sciences to the Galapagos Islands, 1905-1906. XV. The ants of Cocos Island. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. (4)2(2 2: 299-308


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1919f. The ants of Borneo. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 63: 43-147


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1919g. The ant genus Lordomyrma Emery. Psyche (Camb.) 26: 97-106


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1919h. A new paper-making Crematogaster from the southeastern United States. Psyche (Camb.) 26: 107-112


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1919j. The ants of the genus Metapone Forel. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 12: 173-191


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1919k. A singular neotropical ant (Pseudomyrma filiformis Fabricius). Psyche (Camb.) 26: 124-131


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1920. The subfamilies of Formicidae, and other taxonomic notes. Psyche (Camb.) 27: 46-55


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1921a. Professor Emery's subgenera of the genus Camponotus Mayr. Psyche (Camb.) 28: 16-19


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1921b. A new case of parabiosis and the "ant gardens" of British Guiana. Ecology 2: 89-103


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1921c. Chinese ants. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 64: 529-547


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1921d. Observations on army ants in British Guiana. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 56: 291-328


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1921e. Chinese ants collected by Prof. C. W. Howard. Psyche (Camb.) 28: 110-115


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1921f. The Tachigalia ants. Zoologica (N. Y.) 3: 137-168


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1922a. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. I. On the distribution of the ants of the Ethiopian and Malagasy regions. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 45: 13-37


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1922b. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. II. The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 45: 39-269


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1922c. Observations on Gigantiops destructor Fabricius and other leaping ants. Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole) 42: 185-201


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1922e. The ants of Trinidad. Am. Mus. Novit. 45: 1-16


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1922f. A new genus and subgenus of Myrmicinae from tropical America. Am. Mus. Novit. 46: 1-6


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1922g. Neotropical ants of the genera Carebara, Tranopelta and Tranopeltoides, new genus. Am. Mus. Novit. 48: 1-14


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1922i. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VII. Keys to the genera and subgenera of ants. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 45: 631-710


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1922j. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 45: 711-1004


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1922k. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. IX. A synonymic list of the ants of the Malagasy region. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 4 45: 1005-1055


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1922n. Formicidae from Easter Island and Juan Fernandez. Pp. 317-319 in: Skottsberg, C. (ed.) 1921-1940. The natural history of Juan Fernandez and Easter Island. Vol. III. Zoology. Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksells, 688 pp.


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1923a. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der schwedischen entomologischen Reise des Herrn Dr. A. Roman in Amazonas 1914-1915. 7. Formicidae. Ark. Zool. 15(7 7: 1-6


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1923b. Social life among the insects. Lecture V. Parasitic ants and ant guests. Sci. Mon. 16: 5-33


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1923c. Chinese ants collected by Professor S. F. Light and Professor A. P. Jacot. Am. Mus. Novit. 69: 1-6


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1923d. Report on the ants collected by the Barbados-Antigua Expedition from the University of Iowa in 1918. Stud. Nat. Hist. Iowa Univ. 10(3 3: 3-9


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1923e. The occurrence of winged females in the ant genus Leptogenys Roger, with descriptions of new species. Am. Mus. Novit. 90: 1-16


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1923f. Ants of the genera Myopias and Acanthoponera. Psyche (Camb.) 30: 175-192


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1924b. The Formicidae of the Harrison Williams Galapagos Expedition. Zoologica (N. Y.) 5: 101-122


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1924c. Ants of Krakatau and other islands in the Sunda Strait. Treubia 5: 239-258


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1924d. A gynandromorph of Tetramorium guineense Fabr. Psyche (Camb.) 31: 136-137


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1924e. On the ant-genus Chrysapace Crawley. Psyche (Camb.) 31: 224-225


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1925a. Neotropical ants in the collections of the Royal Museum of Stockholm. Ark. Zool. 17A(8 8: 1-55


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1925b. Zoological results of the Swedish Expedition to Central Africa 1921. Insecta. 10. Formicidae. Ark. Zool. 17A(2 25: 1-3


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1925d. The finding of the queen of the army ant Eciton hamatum Fabricius. Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole) 49: 139-149


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1925e. A new guest-ant and other new Formicidae from Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole) 49: 150-181


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1926a. Ants of the Balearic Islands. Folia Myrmecol. Termit. 1: 1-6


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1927a. The occurrence of Formica fusca L. in Sumatra. Psyche (Camb.) 34: 40-41


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1927b. Burmese ants collected by Professor G. E. Gates. Psyche (Camb.) 34: 42-46


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1927c. Ants of the genus Amblyopone Erichson. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 62: 1-29


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1927d. Chinese ants collected by Professor S. F. Light and Professor N. Gist Gee. Am. Mus. Novit. 255: 1-12


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1927e. A few ants from China and Formosa. Am. Mus. Novit. 259: 1-4


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1927f. The physiognomy of insects. Q. Rev. Biol. 2: 1-36


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1927g. The ants of the Canary Islands. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 62: 93-120


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1927h. Ants collected by Professor F. Silvestri in Indochina. Boll. Lab. Zool. Gen. Agrar. R. Sc. Super. Agric. 20: 83-106


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1927i. The ants of Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 62: 121-153


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1928a. Zatapinoma, a new genus of ants from India. Proc. N. Engl. Zool. Club 10: 19-23


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1928b. Mermis parasitism and intercastes among ants. J. Exp. Zool. 50: 165-237


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1928c. Ants collected by Professor F. Silvestri in China. Boll. Lab. Zool. Gen. Agrar. R. Sc. Super. Agric. 22: 3-38


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1928d. Ants collected by Professor F. Silvestri in Japan and Korea. Boll. Lab. Zool. Gen. Agrar. R. Sc. Super. Agric. 22: 96-125


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1928e. A new species of Probolomyrmex from Java. Psyche (Camb.) 35: 7-9


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1929a. The identity of the ant genera Gesomyrmex Mayr and Dimorphomyrmex Ernest André. Psyche (Camb.) 36: 1-12


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1929b. Three new genera of ants from the Dutch East Indies. Am. Mus. Novit. 349: 1-8


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1929d. Note on Gesomyrmex. Psyche (Camb.) 36: 91-92


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1929e. The ant genus Rhopalomastix. Psyche (Camb.) 36: 95-101


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1929f. A Camponotus mermithergate from Argentina. Psyche (Camb.) 36: 102-106


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1929g. Some ants from China and Manchuria. Am. Mus. Novit. 361: 1-11


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1929h. Ants collected by Professor F. Silvestri in Formosa, the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines. Boll. Lab. Zool. Gen. Agrar. R. Sc. Super. Agric. 24: 27-64


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1929i. Two interesting Neotropical myrmecophytes (Cordia nodosa and C. alliodora). Pp. 342-353 in: Jordan, K., Horn, W. (eds.) Fourth International Congress of Entomology, Ithaca, August 1928. Volume II. Transactions. Naumburg a. Saale: G. Pätz, vii + 1037 pp.


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1929j. Part II. Formicidae. Pp. 29-39 in: Wheeler, W. M., Bequaert, J. C. Amazonian myrmecophytes and their ants. Zool. Anz. 82:10-39.


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1930b. Formosan ants collected by Dr. R. Takahashi. Proc. N. Engl. Zool. Club 11: 93-106


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1930c. The ant Prenolepis imparis Say. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 23: 1-26


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1930d. A second note on Gesomyrmex. Psyche (Camb.) 37: 35-40


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1930e. Two new genera of ants from Australia and the Philippines. Psyche (Camb.) 37: 41-47


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1930g. A new parasitic Crematogaster from Indiana. Psyche (Camb.) 37: 55-60 [


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1930h. A new Emeryella from Panama. Proc. N. Engl. Zool. Club 12: 9-13


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1930i. [Untitled. Azteca xanthochroa Roger subsp. salti Wheeler, subsp. nov.]. Pp. 114-115 in: Wheeler, W. M., Darlington, P. J. Ant-tree notes from Rio Frio, Colombia. Psyche (Camb.) 37:107-117.


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1930j. Philippine ants of the genus Aenictus with descriptions of the females of two species. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 38: 193-212


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1930k. A list of the known Chinese ants. Peking Nat. Hist. Bull. 5: 53-81


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1931a. Neotropical ants of the genus Xenomyrmex Forel. Rev. Entomol. (Rio J.) 1: 129-139


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1931b. New and little-known ants of the genera Macromischa, Creosomyrmex and Antillaemyrmex. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 72: 1-34


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1931d. The ant Camponotus (Myrmepomis) sericeiventris Guérin and its mimic. Psyche (Camb.) 38: 86-98


 * [[Media:WheelerW1932.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1932b. Some attractions of the field study of ants. The Scientific Monthly 34:397-402. [1932-05] PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1932e.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1932a. A list of the ants of Florida with descriptions of new forms. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 40: 1-17 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1932d.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1932d. An Australian Leptanilla. Psyche (Camb.) 39: 53-58 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1932f.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1932e. Ants of the Marquesas Islands. Bull. Bernice P. Bishop Mus. 98: 155-163 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1932c.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1932g. Ants from the Society Islands. Bull. Bernice P. Bishop Mus. 113: 13-19 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1933e.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1933a. The Templeton Crocker Expedition of the California Academy of Sciences, 1932. No. 6. Formicidae of the Templeton Crocker Expedition. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. (4) 21: 57-64 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1933a.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1933b. Mermis parasitism in some Australian and Mexican ants. Psyche (Camb.) 40: 20-31 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1933b.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1933c. New ants from China and Japan. Psyche (Camb.) 40: 65-67 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1933c.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1933d. A second parasitic Crematogaster. Psyche (Camb.) 40: 83-86 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1933d.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1933e. A new Myrmoteras from Java. Proc. N. Engl. Zool. Club 13: 73-75 PDF]]


 * [[Media:Wheeler 1933f.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1933f. A new species of Ponera and other records of ants from the Marquesas Islands. Bull. Bernice P. Bishop Mus. 114: 141-144 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1933G.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1933g. Three obscure genera of ponerine ants. Am. Mus. Novit. 672: 1-23 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1933I.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1933i. Colony founding among ants, with an account of some primitive Australian species. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, viii + 179 pp. PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1934d.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1934a. Formicidae of the Templeton Crocker Expedition, 1933. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. (4) 21: 173-181 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1934a.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1934b. An Australian ant of the genus Leptothorax Mayr. Psyche (Camb.) 41: 60-62 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1934b.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1934c. A second revision of the ants of the genus Leptomyrmex Mayr. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 77: 69-118 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1934c.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1934d. Contributions to the fauna of Rottnest Island, Western Australia. No. IX. The ants. J. R. Soc. West. Aust. 20: 137-163 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1934.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1934e. Some aberrant species of Camponotus (Colobopsis) from the Fiji Islands. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 27: 415-424 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1934e.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1934f. Ants from the islands off the west coast of Lower California and Mexico. Pan-Pac. Entomol. 10: 132-144 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1934f.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1934g. Neotropical ants collected by Dr. Elisabeth Skwarra and others. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 77: 157-240 PDF]]


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1934h. Some ants from the Bahama Islands. Psyche (Camb.) 41: 230-232


 * [[Media:WheelerW1935d.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1935a. Two new genera of myrmicine ants from Papua and the Philippines. Proc. N. Engl. Zool. Club 15: 1-9 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1935e.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1935b. New ants from the Philippines. Psyche (Camb.) 42: 38-52 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1935a.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1935c. Myrmecological notes. Psyche (Camb.) 42: 68-72 PDF]]


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1935d. Ants of the genera Belonopelta Mayr and Simopelta Mann. Rev. Entomol. (Rio J.) 5: 8-19


 * [[Media:WheelerW1935b.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1935e. The Australian ant genus Mayriella Forel. Psyche (Camb.) 42: 151-160 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1935f.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1935f. Ants of the genus Acropyga Roger, with description of a new species. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 43: 321-329 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1935c.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1935g. Check list of the ants of Oceania. Occas. Pap. Bernice P. Bishop Mus. 11(1 11: 1-56 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1936a.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1936a. The Australian ant genus Froggattella. Am. Mus. Novit. 842: 1-11 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1936b.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1936b. Binary anterior ocelli in ants. Biological Bulletin (Woods Hole) 70:185-192. [1936-04] PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1936.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1936c. Ants from Hispaniola and Mona Island. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 80: 195-211 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1936d.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1936d. A singular Crematogaster from Guatemala. Psyche (Camb.) 43: 40-48 PDF]]


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1936e. Ecological relations of ponerine and other ants to termites. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 71: 159-243


 * [[Media:WheelerW1936e.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1936f. Notes on some aberrant Indonesian ants of the subfamily Formicinae. Tijdschr. Entomol. 79: 217-221 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1936c.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1936g. Ants from the Society, Austral, Tuamotu and Mangareva Islands. Occas. Pap. Bernice P. Bishop Mus. 12(1 18: 3-17 PDF]]


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1937a. Additions to the ant-fauna of Krakatau and Verlaten Island. Treubia 16: 21-24


 * [[Media:WheelerW1937b.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1937b. Ants mostly from the mountains of Cuba. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 81: 439-465 PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1937.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1937c. Mosaics and other anomalies among ants. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 95 pp. PDF]]


 * [[Media:WheelerW1938.pdf|Wheeler, W. M. 1938. Ants from the caves of Yucatan. Pp. 251-255 in: Pearse, A. S. Fauna of the caves of Yucatan. Carnegie Inst. Wash. Publ. 491:1-304. PDF]]


 * Wheeler, W. M. 1942. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 90: 1-262


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Bailey, I. W. 1920. The feeding habits of pseudomyrmine and other ants. Trans. Am. Philos. Soc. (2) 22: 235-279


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Bequaert, J. C. 1929. Amazonian myrmecophytes and their ants. Zool. Anz. 82: 10-39


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Chapman, J. W. 1925. The ants of the Philippine Islands. Part I, Dorylinae and Ponerinae. Philipp. J. Sci. 28: 47-73


 * [[Media:WheelerW1934g.pdf|Wheeler, W. M.; Creighton, W. S. 1934. A study of the ant genera Novomessor and Veromessor. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 69: 341-387 PDF]]


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Darlington, P. J., Jr. 1930. Ant-tree notes from Rio Frio, Colombia. Psyche (Camb.) 37: 107-117


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Gaige, F. M. 1920. Euponera gilva (Roger), a rare North American ant. Psyche (Camb.) 27: 69-72


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Long, W. H. 1901. The males of some Texan Ecitons. Am. Nat. 35: 157-173


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Mann, W. M. 1914. The ants of Haiti. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 33: 1-61


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Mann, W. M. 1916. The ants of the Phillips Expedition to Palestine during 1914. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 60: 167-174


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Mann, W. M. 1942a. [Untitled. Pseudomyrma picta Stitz var. heterogyna Wheeler and Mann, var. nov.]. Pp. 172-173 in: Wheeler, W. M. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 90:1-262.


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Mann, W. M. 1942b. [Untitled. Pseudomyrma triplarina (Weddell) var. rurrenabaquensis Wheeler & Mann, var. nov.]. Pp. 188-189 in: Wheeler, W. M. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 90:1-262.


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Mann, W. M. 1942c. [Untitled. Allomerus decemarticulatus Mayr subsp. novemarticulatus Wheeler & Mann, subsp. nov.]. P. 199 in: Wheeler, W. M. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 90:1-262.


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Mann, W. M. 1942d. [Untitled. Allomerus decemarticulatus Mayr subsp. octoarticulatus Mayr var. exsanguis Wheeler and Mann, var. nov.]. P. 200 in: Wheeler, W. M. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 90:1-262.


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Mann, W. M. 1942e. [Untitled. Allomerus decemarticulatus Mayr subsp. octoarticulatus Mayr var. angulatus Wheeler & Mann, var. nov.]. P. 201 in: Wheeler, W. M. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 90:1-262.


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Mann, W. M. 1942f. [Untitled. Allomerus decemarticulatus Mayr subsp. octoarticulatus Mayr var. melanoticus Wheeler & Mann, var. nov.]. Pp. 202-203 in: Wheeler, W. M. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 90:1-262.


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Mann, W. M. 1942g. [Untitled. Azteca brevicornis Mayr var. boliviana Wheeler & Mann, var. nov.]. P. 225 in: Wheeler, W. M. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 90:1-262.


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Mann, W. M. 1942h. [Untitled. Azteca ulei Forel var. gagatina Wheeler and Mann var. nov.]. P. 246 in: Wheeler, W. M. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 90:1-262.


 * Wheeler, W. M.; Mann, W. M. 1942i. [Untitled. Myrmelachista (Decamera) schumanni Emery var. cordincola Wheeler & Mann, var. nov.]. P. 255 in: Wheeler, W. M. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 90:1-262.


 * Wheeler, W. M.; McClendon, J. F. 1903. Dimorphic queens in an American ant (Lasius latipes Walsh). Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole) 4: 149-163