The Boll-Weevil Problem. 4 
WORK UPON WHICH THIS BULLETIN IS BASED. 
The danger from the boll weevil was appreciated from the be- 
ginning by the chief of the entomological service of the depart- 
ment. Work on the life history, although at first not extensive, 
showed the essential steps in the control of the pest. Later Con- 
gress made available large appropriations for the exhaustive in- 
vestigation of the insect and of means of reducing its damage. 
Work was begun by the establishment of a laboratory at Victoria, 
Tex., and field experimental work was carried on in direct con- 
nection with the laboratory investigations. Later the headquar- 
ters of the investigation were moved from Victoria to Dallas, 
Tex., on account of the continued spread of the insect, and then 
to Tallulah, La. The Bureau of Entomology has conducted ex- 
periments during several seasons on a total of more than 50,000 
acres of cotton located on well-known plantations throughout the 
infested territory. The special requirements in different regions 
have received particular attention. 
Aside from the work relating directly to the boll weevil which. 
has been conducted by the Bureau of Entomology, the Bureau of 
Plant Industry of this department has carried on investigations deal- 
ing with the breeding of cottons to obtain earliness and productive- 
ness. The farm-demonstration service has carried the results of this 
work directly to the farmers throughout the South. 
In addition to the work done by the Department of Agriculture, 
the State entomologists have dealt with the boll weevil in connec- 
tion with the numerous other entomological problems of the States. 
They have contributed valuable results which have been incorporated 
in this bulletin. 
DESCRIPTION AND LIFE HISTORY OF THE BOLL 
WEEVIL. 
The adult boll weevil is about one-fourth of an inch long, varying 
from one-eighth to one-third of an inch, with a breadth about one- 
third of the length. This measurement includes the snout, which is 
approximately half the length of the body. Variation in size is due 
to the amount of food the insect has obtained in the larva stage. 
Individuals from bolls are therefore nearly always larger than those 
from squares. The color (grayish or brownish) depends upon the 
time that may have elapsed after transformation to the adult stage. 
The recently emerged individuals are light yellowish in color, but 
this changes to a gray or nearly black shade in a few weeks’ time 
(fig. 2). 
Hundreds of species of weevils in this country may be easily mis- 
taken for the boll weevil. Many erroneous reports about the occur- 
