The Grand

Anthon
The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) is a beetle
measuring an average length of six millimeters,
which feeds on cotton buds and flowers.
Thought to be native to Central America, it
migrated into the United States from Mexico in
the late 19th century and had infested all U.S.
cotton-growing areas by the 1920s, devastating
the industry and the people working in the
American south. During the late 20th century it
became a serious pest in South America as well.
Since 1978, the Boll Weevil Eradication Program
in the U.S. allowed full-scale cultivation to
resume in many regions.
Adult weevils overwinter in well-drained areas in
or near cotton fields after diapause. They
emerge and enter cotton fields from early spring
through midsummer, with peak emergence in
late spring, and feed on immature cotton bolls.
The female lays about 200 eggs over a 1012
day period. The oviposition leaves wounds on
the exterior of the flower bud. The eggs hatch in
three to five days within the cotton squares
(larger buds before flowering), feed for eight to
ten days, and finally pupate. The pupal stage
lasts another five to seven days. The life cycle
from egg to adult spans about three weeks
during the summer. Under optimal conditions
there may be eight to 10 generations per
season.
Boll weevils will begin to die at temperatures at
or below 5 C (23 F). Research at the
University of Missouri indicates they cannot
survive more than an hour at 15 C (5 F). The
insulation offered by leaf litter, crop residues,
and snow may enable the beetle to survive
when air temperatures drop to these levels. The
boll weevil lays its eggs inside buds and ripening
bolls (fruits) of the cotton plants. The adult
insect has a long snout, is grayish color, and is
usually less than 6mm long.
Other limitations on boll weevil populations
include extreme heat and drought. Its natural
predators include fire ants, insects, spiders,
birds, and a parasitic wasp, Catolaccus grandis.
The insects sometimes emerge from diapause
before cotton buds are available.
The insect crossed the Rio Grande near
Brownsville, Texas to enter the United States
from Mexico in 1892 and reached
southeasternAlabama in 1909. By the mid-1920s
it had entered all cotton growing regions in the
U.S., travelling 40 to 160 miles per year. It
remains the most destructive cotton pest in
North America. Mississippi State University has
estimated that since the boll weevil entered the
United States it has cost U.S. cotton producers
about $13 billion, and in recent times about
$300 million per year.
The boll weevil contributed to the economic
woes of Southern farmers during the 1920s, a
situation exacerbated by the Great Depression
in the 1930s.

Boll weevils will begin to die at
temperatures at or below 5 C

The Library of Congress American Memory
Project contains a number of oral history
materials on the boll weevil's impact. The boll
weevil infestation has been credited with
bringing about economic diversification in the
southern US, including the expansion of peanut
cropping. The citizens of Enterprise, Alabama
erected the Boll Weevil Monument in 1919,
perceiving that their economy had been overly
dependent on cotton, and that mixed farming
and manufacturing were better alternatives.
The boll weevil appeared in Venezuela in 1949
and in Colombia in 1950. The Amazon Rainforest
was thought to present a barrier to its further
spread, but it was detected in Brazil in 1983, and
it is estimated that about 90% of the cotton
farms in Brazil are now infested. During the
1990s the weevil spread to Paraguay and
Argentina. The International Cotton Advisory
Committee (ICAC) has proposed a control
program similar to that used in the U.S.