Bradley's Field Ant

Formica bradleyi · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae

Also called: Sandhill ant

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Bradley's Field Ant
Photo: Rob Foster, CC BY

Bradley's field ant is noted for its striking coloration, with red females and workers and black males. It builds its colonies only in sandy soil.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Females and workers are bright red, while males are shiny black.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

The species is restricted to habitats that have sandy soil.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 8 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Mexico, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Bradley's Field Ant photo 2
Photo: Rob Foster, CC BY
Bradley's Field Ant photo 3
Photo: Rob Foster, CC BY
Bradley's Field Ant photo 4
Photo: Andrea Grover, CC BY
Bradley's Field Ant photo 5
Photo: Alessandro Franchini, CC BY

Same family (Formicidae)

Eastern Black Carpenter AntEastern Black Carpenter AntCamponotus pennsylvanicusCan biteRed Imported Fire AntRed Imported Fire AntSolenopsis invictaCan stingAmerican Winter AntAmerican Winter AntPrenolepis imparisArgentine AntArgentine AntLinepithema humileNuisance, not dangerousImmigrant Pavement AntImmigrant Pavement AntTetramorium immigransCan stingOdorous House AntOdorous House AntTapinoma sessileCan damage your home

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formica_bradleyi

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-28 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-28.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.