10 
Aside from the work directly relating 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 in its 
province. These have dealt with the breeding of cottons to obtain 
earliness and productiveness and with the extensive demonstration 
of the efficiency of the system of control devised by the Bureau of 
Entomology as the result of careful studies in the field and laboratory. 
In addition to the work done by the Department of Agriculture 
the States concerned have done their part. Several entomologists 
have been employed by the State of Texas, namely, F. W. Mally, 
E. D. Sanderson, A. F. Conradi, and C. E. Sanborn. They have 
dealt with the boll weevil in connection with the numerous other ento- 
mological problems of the State and have contributed valuable results 
that have been made use of in this bulletin. The State of Louisiana 
has also done very notable work. Prof. H. A. Morgan and, later, 
Mr. Wilmon Newell, have added considerably to our knowledge of 
the weevil and the means of controlling it. In many ways their 
results are incorporated in this bulletin. 
DESCRIPTION AND LIFE HISTORY. 
The adult boll weevil is about one-fourth of an inch in length, 
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 about one-half the length of the body. Variation in size is due to 
the amount of food the insect has obtained in the larval stage. In- 
dividuals from bolls are there- 
fore nearly always larger than 
those from squares. The color 
(grayish or brownish) depends 
upon the time that may have 
elapsed after transformation 
into the adult stage. The re- 
cently emerged individuals are 
light yellowish in color, but 
this passes to a gray or nearly 
black shade in a few weeks’ time. 
The general appearance of the in- 
Fic, 2—Cotton boll weevil: a, Beetle, sect will be evident from the ac- 
from above; b, same, from side. About . ° : 
ves natural size. (Author's illustra- companylng Ulustrations (fig. 2). 
Many insects resemble the boll 
weevil more or less closely. In fact, there are hundreds of species of 
weevils in this country that may easily be mistaken for the enemy 
of cotton. Many mistaken reports about the occurrence of weevils 
far outside of the infested area have been due to mistakes that have 
arisen on account of this similarity. The only safe way to determine 
344 
