An invasive, tiny ant that can cause painful stings in humans and blindness in pets has been found on a farm in Waihee on Maui.

State Department of Agriculture officials believe that the colony of Little Fire Ants is confined to a half-acre area on the farm and that the ants can be eradicated. The ants were discovered after farm workers reported being stung by ants.

This species of ant has been on the Big Island since at least 1999, but agriculture officials said this is the first discovery of the creatures on Maui and that they may have been there for a year.

Little Fire Ants are 1/16-inch long, pale orange and they move slowly. A sting by an ant can produce large, painful red welts that last about three days, officials said.

The ants rarely sting, but they will sting if they get under clothing, the department said.

They are known to build large colonies on the ground, in trees and other vegetation and have overrun property and moved into homes, the department said.

"Little Fire Ants will cause painful stings, and that's why we're concerned," said Janelle Saneishi, DOA spokeswoman. "We don't want it to get to schoolyards. They're hard to detect."

Last week, agricultural inspectors surveyed Waihee Elementary School about a quarter mile from the infested farm and found no sign of the Little Fire Ants, she said. The department did not disclose the name of the farm.

Little Fire Ants are known throughout central and northern South America, the West Indies and the warmer parts of Mexico. The ants also are common in south Florida.

The first discovery in Hawaii of Little Fire Ants was in April 1999 in Hawaiian Paradise Park on the Big Island. Agricultural officials believe the ants were on infested palm trees that were planted as windbreaks around a fruit orchard four years earlier.

Agriculture officials are trying to determine how the ants got to Maui.