It ranges from Central and Northern Europe through Russia to Japan, China, the Korean Peninsula, Africa and also the United States.

[3] Blood-red ants, F. sanguinea, are facultative slave-makers, meaning colonies can live either alone or be parasitic.

Both captive workers and blood-red ant raiders are observed to be carrying the brood back to the Formica sanguinea nest.

If a member of the colony is killed in the raid, individuals will take that carcass back to the nest to be eaten later.

[3] F. sanguinea uses formic acid as well as substances in the Dufour's gland as chemical defence.

[6] Formica sanguinea uses the formic acid and Dufour's gland substances in conjunction with each other.

These substances dissolve the fat compounds of the epicuticle as well as enter the tracheal system to kill the opponent.

[7] Polyandrous Formica sanguinea colonies show paternity skew, meaning that the mated males offspring are not represented equally in the population.

[7] Formica sanguinea analyzes hydrocarbons on the cuticle of another individual to determine if it is an intruder.