Little fire ants discovered at Maui hotel

State officials hope the early discovery of a small infestation of little fire ants at a Maui hotel will keep the invasive species from taking up residence there, prompting a video on how they can be detected.

The infestation at the Wailea hotel was confirmed in May and covered an area of about 400 square feet, where a pesticide treatment was used.

"The area of infestation was caught early and crews are extremely confident that it can be eradicated," Scott Enright, chairman of the state Board of Agriculture, said in a news release. "We cannot express enough how important it is to find any infestation before it becomes widely established."

The Department of Land and Natural Resources has produced a short video showing how to test for the ants. It is available at vimeo.com/97558997. The video is also available on state Agriculture Department and DLNR websites, Facebook and YouTube pages. Organizations that would like to show it on their Web pages or social media should contact Dan Dennison, DLNR education and outreach coordinator, at 808-587-0407.

Little fire ants have been found on Hawaii island since 1999, but in December 2013 they were detected on Hawaiian ferns at stores on Maui and Oahu. Small infestations at five Oahu nurseries, three of which were in Waimanalo, were treated and the ants eradicated.

The tiny pale orange ants are about 1/16th inch long and move slowly. They can produce painful stings and large red welts and may cause blindness in pets.

Suspected invasive species should be reported to the state’s toll-free hot line at 643-7378.