Bug FAQFormica cunicularia
Formica cunicularia · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae
Workers are ashy-grey to black and 4 to 6.5 mm long; males are uniformly dark and 8 to 9 mm long; queens range from yellow-red to black and are 7.5 to 9 mm long. They live in small colonies of about 5 000 ants, often nesting under stones or in tiny earth mounds in dry, open habitats across Europe from southern Scandinavia to northern Africa.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Workers are ashy grey-black; queens range from yellowish-red to dark black.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Workers measure 4.0 to 6.5 mm, males 8.0 to 9.0 mm, and queens 7.5 to 9.0 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They occupy open to visually rich areas and in Finland nest under stones or small earth mounds in dry, hot spots with low vegetation.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
In arid regions they mainly eat seeds, but they also act as predators and scavengers.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Colonies are relatively small, typically around 5 000 individuals. They can be parasitized by the slave-making ant Polyergus rufescens.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species is found throughout Europe, from southern Scandinavia down to northern Africa and from Portugal east to the Urals.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
They have been confused with Formica fusca var. rubescens and with Formica rufibarbis; differences lie in coloration and habits.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I tell Formica cunicularia apart from similar ants?
Look for the ashy-grey to black workers and the yellow-red to black queens; other species like F. rufibarbis have different color patterns.
Source: Wikipedia
What do these ants eat?
They mainly feed on seeds in dry areas and also hunt other small insects or scavenge.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Formicidae)
Eastern Black Carpenter AntCamponotus pennsylvanicusCan damage your home
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_cunicularia
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Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.