The range within the palaearctic region extends from Portugal in the west to Japan in the east and from Italy in the south to Fennoscandia in the north.

[2] F. fusca nests are usually found in rotten tree stumps or under stones in clearcut areas and along woodland borders and hedgerows.

A study has found evidence of nepotism in F. fusca,[4] in contrast with previous experiments with other ant species;[5] this conclusion has been challenged on the grounds that the observed pattern may result from differences in egg viability.

Workers have been found to have a very high resistance to some pathogens[7] and it is thought this may be due to F. fusca utilising the antibiotic properties of their formic acid, additional to the use of their metapleural gland.

[8][9] Workers of this ant species can learn to associate an olfactory stimulus to a reward (sugar solution) during a classical conditioning protocol.