As there are a wide variety of field ants in the world, it is not possible to make many generalizations. They tend to construct their colonies in the ground near trees, fences, sidewalks, rocks and other lawn and wood debris, and some species are known to use leaves, stems and pine needles in the construction of their nest.

Field ants themselves typically are typically between 3 and 10 mm large. They feature an uneven thorax, a single node and three simple eyes in between two compound eyes.