The normal queen caste has been completely eliminated. Males are rare (23 percent of the entire adult crop during June and July) and nonfunctional.

Reproduction is almost exclusively parthenogenetic by unfertilized workers, who do not differ in any apparent manner from other workers in the colony.

Apparently, the Pristomyrmex pungens colony is asexual. It has come to resemble a vegetatively reproducing plant in its organization.

The concept of "queen" cannot be applied in this case, and it is difficult to classify the species as truly eusocial (group in which individuals display cooperation in caring for the young; reproductive division of labor, with more or less sterile individuals working on behalf of individuals engaged in reproduction).