Mapping <italic>Azteca barbifex</italic> Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) dispersal in georeferenced orange (<italic>Citrus sinensis</italic> [L.] Osbeck) orchard in the Eastern Amazon, Brazil.

Damage to orange trees (<italic>Citrus sinensis</italic> [L.] Osbeck) as a result of <italic>Azteca barbifex</italic> Forel infestation in orchards of the Eastern Amazon, Brazil, has caused concern among farmers. The presence or absence of <italic>A. barbifex</italic> ants was sampled in a georeferenced orchard with 4600 plants from June 2007 to June 2008, and the six most representative months of infestation were analyzed. Dispersion patterns of <italic>A. barbifex</italic> were studied using semivariograms to determine the most suitable spatial distribution model of the species and kriging maps were drawn. Spherical semivariogram models best fit the spatial dispersion patterns of <italic>A. barbifex</italic>, showing that the patterns of damage resulted from attack foci. The density of <italic>A. barbifex</italic> nests increased during the dry period, with drastic reduction in the rainy season. The results show that geostatistics is a useful tool for evaluating <italic>A. barbifex</italic> spatial and temporal distributions and to define reliable sampling plans for use in integrated pest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]