Bug FAQVariable Field Ant
Formica schaufussi · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae
Variable Field Ant workers are a shiny red to dark brown, with northern individuals being deep brown-black and southern ones bright coppery-yellow; they look very similar to Formica incerta but are glossier. They build nests under bark on old stumps or in rotten logs in forests, and may make a small mound above a nest in grassland.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Workers are a shiny red to dark brown ant, with colour varying from deep brown-black in the north to bright coppery-yellow in the south.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
In forests they nest under bark on old stumps or in rotten logs; in grasslands they may form a small mound above a nest near grass clumps.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Workers stay in the nest at night and go out to forage in the morning. The first batch of workers are small due to poor nutrition, after which the queen lays more eggs that are cared for by the new foraging workers.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Male and female winged ants emerge from larvae that overwintered and pupated in late spring.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Winged ants fly in late summer, usually in the morning as the sun reaches the nest, emerging a few at a time.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Workers look very similar to those of Formica incerta but are more glossy.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 16 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Illinois, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
When do the winged ants fly?
They take flight in late summer, typically in the morning as the sun reaches the nest, and only a few emerge at a time.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I tell Variable Field Ants apart from Formica incerta?
Variable Field Ant workers are glossier than Formica incerta workers.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Formicidae)
Eastern Black Carpenter AntCamponotus pennsylvanicusCan bite
Red Imported Fire AntSolenopsis invictaCan sting
American Winter AntPrenolepis imparis
Argentine AntLinepithema humileNuisance, not dangerous
Immigrant Pavement AntTetramorium immigransCan sting
Odorous House AntTapinoma sessileCan damage your homeSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formica_pallidefulva
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-29 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-29.