As stated above, the bolls do not drop. The punctures made by the 

 weevils in feeding, however, are comparative!}' characteristic, and where 

 a boll is discolored and has begun to crack at the tip the larva or the 

 pupa can be seen without troul)le on cutting it open. Late in the season 

 the weevils themselves will be found between the involucre and the boll, 

 as shown in fig. 5, or in their absence the feeding marks and the yel- 

 low, granular excrement which collects in the involucre at the base of 

 the boll are excellent indications. 



POPULAR NAMES. 



In south Texas, among Spanish-speaking people, the insect is gener- 

 ally' known as the " picudo," a descriptive name which refers to the snout 

 or beak of the insect. English-speaking planters generally referred to 

 the insect at first as "the sharpshooter," a term which for many years 

 has been applied to any insect which causes through its punctures the 

 shedding of the squares or the rotting of the bolls. As there are sev- 

 eral native insects that are commonly called sharpshooters, and which, 

 though injurious, are by no means to be compared with this insect, it 

 becomes necessary to discourage in everj' Avay the use of the word sharp- 

 shooter as applied to this weevil. This was attempted in the first edition 

 of the circular by illustrating one of the commonest of the insects ordi- 

 narily termed sharpshooters, calling attention to the I'adical differences 

 which exist between it and the weevil under consideration. The adop- 

 tion of the term " Mexican cotton-boll weevil "' for the new pest is recom- 

 mended. The term sharpshooter is now much less generally applied to 

 the weevil than it was at first. Planters generally now refer to it as 

 the boll weevil, or the Mexican weevil, or the Mexican boll weevil. 



PARASITES AND NATT^RAL ENEMIES. 



It is safe to say that little assistance will be derived from the work 

 of natural enemies and parasites upon this insect. Of the former none 

 of any importance has been found. Several parasites, however, have 

 been found to attack it, and in one or two localities some little good 

 has resulted from their work. They have only been abundant, how- 

 ever, late in the season, after the weevil has completed its damage for 

 the year and at a time when a minimum of good can be accomplished 

 by the destruction of the larva. The majority of the weevils in a given 

 field fail to hibernate successfully, being killed by cold weather or some 

 other cause, so that the work of parasites at this time does not count. 

 Careful estimates, however, show that from 15 to 20 per cent of the 

 weevil larva:? in fallen squares in November at Beeville and Kenedy 

 were destroyed by parasites. There is a bare possibility that in the 

 original home of the weevil (south Mexico and some Central American 

 States, as well as certain of the West Indies) more efficacious parasites 

 could be found, but this possibility is hardly sufiiciently strong to 

 warrant the expense of a search expedition. 



re:\[Edies. 



In considering the matter of remedies we must start with the state- 

 ment that experience has shown that none of the general applications 

 of insecticides will be of the slightest value against this species. There 

 are measures, however, which cotton planters may adopt and which, if 

 carried out generally at the right time, will postpone the appearance of 



