Department of Agriculture 11 



There are several contributing factors to the extreme sus- 

 ceptibility of Sea Island cotton to boll weevil damage. The 

 chief reason probably is that it is a comparatively slow matur- 

 ing variety which gives the weevils sufficient time to breed 

 in larger numbers before the bolls mature. The bolls also 

 are thin-rined, which enables the female weevils to place the 

 eggs farther into the tissues of the lint than is the case with 

 upland bolls of equal age. Sea Island bolls are softer than 

 upland bolls, and generally more attractive to the weevil. In 

 the case of upland cotton, the bolls are not appreciably dam- 

 aged by the weevil until a very large percentage of the squares 

 have been punctured, whereas Sea Island bolls are often at- 

 tacked by the weevil in preference to squares. 



In addition to its greater susceptibility to boll weevil dam- 

 age, weevils are ordinarily more numerous in a community 

 growing Sea Island cotton than if upland cotton were grown. 

 There is more than one reason for this, probably the most 

 important one being that Sea Island cotton tends to produce 

 a second growth of foliage, squares and blossoms in the fall 

 after the crop is harvested to a much greater extent than does 

 upland, giving the fall crop of weevils an abundant supply of 

 nutritious food on which to fatten for winter. Moreover, a 

 larger number of weevils usually emerge from the top bolls 

 of Sea Island during late summer and early fall than from 

 upland bolls. Generally, weevils may be expected to be about 

 twice as numerous in the spring in communities growing Sea 

 Island compared with areas where upland cotton is grown. 

 Anyone contemplating the production of Sea Island cotton, 

 therefore, should study the life history and habits of the boll 

 weevil and diligently apply positive control measures, other- 

 wise eventual failure will be a practical certainty. 



Description and Life History 



The adult boll weevil averages about 3/16 inch long, resem- 

 bling somewhat a tiny elephant. When it first emerges from 

 a square or boll, it is reddish brown, but turns darker as it 

 ages. Old adults, especially those that have passed the win- 

 ter, are grayish in color. 



Most female weevils lay from eight to twelve eggs a day, 

 in as many squares, until a total of a hundred or more eggs 

 are deposited. In three or four days the egg hatches into a 

 tiny grub, which soon begins to feed on the succulent square 

 tissues surrounding it. In about ten days, the square flares, 



