Přes obrovský pokrok v molekulárních fylogenetických metodách a množství v nedávné době objevených fosilních taxonů nemáme o fylogenezi a evoluci mravenců (čeleď Formicidae) mnoho ověřených faktů. V současnosti se rozlišuje 16 žijících a tři fosilní podčeledi. Podčeleď Leptanillinae je považována za bazální, zatímco skupina Apoidea (včely a kutilky) se ukazuje jako sesterská k čeledi mravenců.

Citovaná a základní doporučená literatura:
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HÖLLDOBLER, B., E. O. WILSON. Cesta k mravencům. Praha: Academia, 1997.
JOHNSON, Brian R., Marek L. BOROWIEC, Joanna C. CHIU, Ernest K. LEE, Joel ATALLAH a Philip S. WARD. Phylogenomics Resolves Evolutionary Relationships among Ants, Bees, and Wasps. Current Biology [online]. 2013, vol. 23, issue 24 [cit. 2015–02–25]. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.11.056.
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PERRICHOT, Vincent, Sébastien LACAU, Didier NÉRAUDEAU a André NEL. Fossil evidence for the early ant evolution. Naturwissenschaften [online]. 2007, vol. 95, issue 2, s. 85–90 [cit. 2015–02–25]. DOI: 10.1007/s00114–007–0301–8.
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SCHMIDT, C. A. Molecular phylogenetics and taxonomic revision of Ponerinae ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae). Tucson, 2009. Dissertation. The University of Arizona.
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SOUDEK, Š. Mravenci. Soustava, zeměpisné rozšíření, oekologie a určovací klíč mravenců žijících na území Československé republiky. Praha: 1922.
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In contrast to the huge progress of molecular phylogenetic methods and many re­cently discovered fossil taxa, the phylogeny and evolution of ants (Formicidae) remains poorly understood. Today 16 extant and three fossil ant subfamilies are known. The subfamily Leptanillinae is considered as basal, while Apoidea seems to be a sister family to the ants.