od 
oO 
found in January at Sharpsburg. Whenever a heavy frost comes in this 
month, or before, the observations of last fall show that those insects 
which have not reached the beetle stage are nearly all killed. From 
this fact it follows that the insect will not probably prove as injurious 
in other portions of the cotton belt as it is in southern Texas. 
It was found during the latter part of 1895 that the weevil was pres- 
ent in a number of localities in which it was not known by the planters 
themselves to occur. It is important that every planter who lives in or 
near the region which we have mapped out should be able to discover 
the weevil as soon as it makes its appearance in 
his fields. Where a field is at all badly infested 
the absence of bloom is an indication of the pres- 
ence of the insect. In the early part of the sea- 
son the weevils attack the squares first, and these 
wilt and drop off. A field may be in full blos- 
som, and as soon as the insect spreads well 
through it hardly a blossom will be seen. This 
dropping alone, however, is not a sufficient indi- (7 4 
cation of the weevil’s presence. Squaresareshed \.% ¢ \¢ ( | 
from other causes, but if a sufficient number of © //*4 y 
fallen squares are cut open the cause will be ap- ij oN! 
parent. The characteristic larva of the weevil 
maleberduite readily recognizable on comparison 19-5. Late fall boll, show. 
with the figures which we publish herewith. tween boll and involucre. 
As stated above, the bolls do not drop. The 
punctures made by the weevils in feeding, however, are comparatively 
characteristic, and where a boll is discolored and has begun to crack at 
the tip the larva or the pupa can be seen without trouble 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 yellow, granular excrement which collects in the 
involucre at the base of the boll are excéllent 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 
several 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 every way the use of the 
word sharpshooter as applied to this weevil. This was attempted in 
the first edition of the circular by illustrating one of the commonest of 
the insects ordinarily termed sharpshooters, calling attention to the 
radical differences which exist between it and the weevil under consid- 
eration. The adoption of the term “‘ Mexican cotton-boll weevil’’ for 
the new pest is recommended. The term sharpshooter is now much 
less generally applied to the weevil than it was at first. Planters gen- 
erally now refer to it as the boll weevil, or the Mexican weevil, or the 
Mexican boll weevil. 
