HONOLULU -- A tiny insect with a painful bite has state agricultural officials scrambling quickly to stop the pest from spreading.

The little fire ant has just been discovered on a farm in Waihee, Maui.

The ants measure about 1/16th of an inch long. They are pale orange in color and move slowly. They have a painful sting that cause large red welts and can cause blindness in pets.

This ant species has been on the Big Island since at least 1999.

The discovery of the ant on Maui is the first on another island.

"This type of ant can build multiple colonies that are all interconnected. So, it's kind of hard to say it's a big colony or not, but it appears to be covering about a half acre, which is actually a fairly small area. So we're very hopeful we caught it early," Department of Agriculture Plant and Pest Control Branch manager Neil Reimer said.

Originally from South America, these ants destroy plants.

Agriculture officials are trying to figure out how it got to Maui.