Boll Weevil

boll weevil

boll weevil, (Anthonomus grandis), beetle of the insect family Curculionidae (order Coleoptera), a cotton pest in North America. Introduced to the United States from Mexico in the 1890s, the boll weevil was a severe agricultural pest for nearly 90 years, until the launch of an aggressive multiyear eradication campaign in 1978. The campaign almost, progressing slowly but effectively, completely eradicated the boll weevil from cotton-producing states, primarily through aerial release of the insecticide malathion. The boll weevil infestation is estimated to have caused crop losses of 30 to 50 percent in infested areas. The eradication program led to increased crop yields (by 10 percent or more) and a dramatic decrease in the use of insecticides (40–100 percent), leading to a reduction in production costs. In 2013 Texas was the only state to still have areas with boll weevil infestations.

The size of a mature boll weevil varies according to the amount of food it receives during its larval stage, but it averages about 6 mm (¹/₄ inch), including the long, curved snout, which is about one-half the body length. In the spring, adult boll weevils emerge from a partly dormant state, and their light yellow colour changes to gray or black over several weeks. Females deposit between about 100 and 300 eggs in cotton buds or fruit, though they avoid depositing their eggs in cotton bolls already visited by other females, unless most of the bolls are infested. An average of two to three weeks is required for an egg to develop into an adult, and there may be up to 10 generations each year. The larvae live entirely within the cotton boll, destroying not only the seeds but also the surrounding cotton fibres. Because the larvae and pupae remain inside the cotton bolls for their entire period of development, the application of insecticides at that time is ineffective.

The boll weevil infestation caused many farmers to realize the value of crop rotation and the need for crop diversification rather than total dependence on cotton. In addition to the use of malathion, control programs include early destruction of cotton stalks, cleanup of hibernating areas, seed treatments, early planting, and the development of early-maturing and rapid-fruiting varieties of cotton.