28 



graphs briefly describe the ditiereiil stages ol" the wee- 

 vil as they are found in cotton, and outline the life 

 history so that the reason for the effectiveness of many 

 of the practices advised may be evident to the intelli- 

 gent reader. By following these suggestions closely 

 the damage which the boll weevil will necessarily in- 

 flict may be reduced to a small part of what it will do 

 if its })resence is ignored and old methods of cotton 

 production are continued. 



STAGES AND WORK OF THE BOLL WEEVIL. 



The Boll Weevil Attacks Cotton Only.— The boll wee- 

 vil is a beetle belonging to a large group all of which 

 have a part of the head in front of the eyes greatly 

 extended to form a long, slender snout. There are 

 many hundreds of species of these insects, all of wdiich 

 are commonly called "weevils," but the Mexican cotton 

 boll weevil is the only one attacking cotton in this 

 country. Another species attacks cotton squares in 

 Peru, South America. 



Other Weevils Mistaken For Boll Weevil. — The wee- 

 vils so comnionly found during the fall and winter in 

 the stems and roots of cocklebnr, ragweed, etc., are 

 different species entirely. They are often mistaken 

 for the boll weevil. (See Alabama Extension Leaflet 

 No. 10.) The boll weevil breeds in cotton squares and 

 bolls and nowhere else. The species in cocklebur is 

 known as the cocklebur weevil or "transverse Baris" 

 and that in ragweed is the "ragweed weevil." These 

 weevils tlo not attack cotton and the boll weevil never 

 occurs in these weeds. In the spring a species of wee- 

 vil which breeds in cowpea pods and is known there- 

 fore as the "cowpea pod weevil" is found quite com- 

 monlv ui)()n voung cotton where it does some damage 

 bv feeding on the buds and tender leaf stems as does 

 the boll weevil. The cowpea pod weevil is about the 

 size of the boll weevil but is solid black in color and 

 the surface of its body is event}' covered with small 

 j)its or dents which give it a very different appearance. 

 This c()wi)ea weevil does not breed in cotton. It is 

 simply fee(nng there while waiting for cowpeas to 

 develop and then leaves the cotton for the cowpea 

 fields where it occm\s during the balance of the season. 



Four Stages: 1. Egg. — Like all other beetles the boll 

 weevil has four distinct stages in the development of 

 each individual. The first of these is the egg, which 



