They're not much bigger than a speck of dirt, but they pack a powerful and painful sting.

Little fire ants can be disastrous to our farming industry.

They've already invaded parts of the Big Island.

"We grow mostly flowering plants," said farmer Bill Durston.

Waimanalo farmer Bill Durston is always on the lookout for new pests.

He hopes little fire ants will never come marching by his nursery.

"They are the smaller than any ant you've seen," said Durston.

About as long as a penny is thick.

And way smaller than the red ants you'd typically see at local parks.

Don't let their size fool you -- they have a very powerful venomous sting.

"It's like a burning needle going into your skin. Typically you get red welts, usually itches, for some people a couple days to two weeks constantly itching after the pain goes away," said Neil Reimer of the Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture.

Little fire ants were first discovered in our state in 1999 in Puna on the Big Island.

And since then there've been about 50 known infestations in East Hawaii.

"So far we haven't found it in Kona side, we've also done surveys on Oahu and have not found it here. We did find infestation on Kauai and we're working to eradicate that right now," said Reimer.

Little fire ants are often found in and under potted plants, on the ground, and on flowers.

They're common in Central and South America and in South Florida.

"It could have a very serious impact on agriculture. In fact it has on the Gallapagos Islands, it got into the coffee there and pretty much got close to shutting down the coffee industry because the coffee pickers didn't want to pick," said Reimer.

The Ag. Department is constantly testing areas across the state for little fire ants, sometimes using peanut butter to lure them.

"We volunteered with our nursery club the Oahu Nursery Club, all of our members are volunteering to have our nurseries tested," said Durston.

The state also tests plants that are shipped from the infested areas, to prevent them from invading the entire state.