Ants feed on a variety of foods. Sugary materials are preferred by most species. Seeds, grease or protein-rich foods and insect pests make up the diet of other ants. They nest in loose soil around rocks and foundations. Although field ants do not nest indoors, nests adjacent to or under homes allow these ants to forage indoors during early spring, before other ants are active.
Field ants feed on a variety of foods.
However, field ants also feed on other Insects. Field ants do not have a stinger but they can pinch thin areas of skin and secrete formic acid that produces a short-lived pain. Nesting sites can be brick or stone walls, cracks in the pavement, under rocks, and in openings around foundations. They do not nest in houses but often forage inside in search of sweet materials. Some eastern plains species are lighter.