Formic Acid vs Formica - Which came first?
The name 'formic acid' has been derived from the name 'formica' as it is derived literally from ants. Wikipedia clearly states:


  The word "formic" comes from the Latin word for ant, formica,
  referring to its early isolation by the distillation of ant bodies.


If you type 'formic acid etymology' in Google, it will give two links that proves the above statement:



  1791 (in formic acid), literally "from ants," coined from Latin
  formica "ant". The acid first was obtained in a fairly pure form in 1749 by German chemist Andreas Sigismund Marggraf (1709-1782), who
  prepared it by distilling red ants.(etymoline)


  As early as the fifteenth century, some alchemists and naturalists
  were aware that ant hills gave off an acidic vapor. In 1671, English
  naturalist John Ray became the first person to describe the isolation
  of formic acid by the distillation of large numbers of ants. These
  insects secrete the substance for attack and defense purposes. Thus
  the name "formic acid" was coined from the Latin word for ant,
  formica.(newworldencyclopedia)