The citrus blackfly, Aleurocanthus woglumi, presents high dispersal ability and adaptability to diverse climatic conditions as well as large reproductive potential. This study aimed to evaluate the populational fluctuation and to characterize the pattern of spatial dependence of citrus blackfly in a commercial orchard of Tahiti lime (Citrus latifolia Tanaka), in São José de Ribamar county, state of Maranhão. A global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information system (GIS) were used to locate the points of the samples, to characterize the pattern of distribution, calculate the aggregation area and produce distribution maps of the adults of citrus blackfly in the orchard. The average total number of citrus blackflies was higher during the rainy season and there were significant correlations between the variables rainfall, relative humidity and total number of adults. The spatial distribution of A. woglumi in the orchard is aggregated, adjusting the calculated variograms to the spherical model in the dry and rainy seasons. The insects showed an area of mean aggregation of 162,092 m² in the rainy season and 9,615 m² in the dry season. Thus, to obtain a reliable estimate of citrus blackfly populations, at least one trap should be used every 17 hectares in the rainy season and one trap per hectare in the dry season.
Citrus blackfly; spatial distribution; geostatistics
