LITTLE FIRE ANT

Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger, 1863)

Wasmannia worker (HDOA photograph)

Wasmannia size compared to pen tip (HDOA photograph)

This tiny ant was discovered in the Hawaiian Islands in the late 1990s and has the potential to become a major undesirable pest.

Hawaii State Department of Agriculture (HDOA) press release. [pdf file]

MAP: Known Big Island distribution. (as of November 2002; courtesy BIISC)

Little Fire Ant Action Plan (HDOA Plant Industry Division, 8 December 1999)

How to Identify Wasmannia auropunctata: a new insect pest on Kaua`i (CTAHR, May 2004) [pdf file]