before the boll weevils become abundant. Of actual means by 

 which the boll weevils themselves may be' destroyed, we have 

 but two that are practical the fall destruction of the cotton 

 plants and decreasing the number of favorable hibernating 

 quarters. Of these two, the latter is of only small importance 

 compared to the destruction of. the cotton plants. 



As was stated on a previous page, but few weevils succeed 

 in surviving the winter and even in the most heavily infested 

 sections it is difficult to find weevils in the cotton fields when 

 the cotton first appears above ground in the spring. As 

 a result of careful laboratory studies, combined with field ob- 

 servations, Messrs. Hunter and Hinds have found that the pro- 

 geny of one pair of hibernated weevils amounts, at the end of 

 the first generation, about June 29th, to 100, and the progeny 

 of these weevils, by the middle of August, amounts to 5,000. 

 The third generation, becoming adult about the third week in 

 September, in turn produces a total of 250,000 as the progeny 

 of the 5,000, provided a sufficient number of squares and young 

 bolls are present in the field*. 



In reality a state of "gross infestation " is usually reached 

 about the middle or latter part of August, every square at that 

 time being punctured, either for egg deposition or for feeding. 

 From that time on the increase in the number of weevils is lim- 

 ited only by the available supply of green squares, forms and 

 young bolls. Could the cotton plants produce squares fast 

 enough, the progeny of a single pair of hibernating weevils, by 

 December 1st, would be at least 15,000,000, by the most conser- 

 vative calculation. 



It will readily be seen therefore, that with a supply of food 

 available late in the fall, the last generation of the season will 

 produce far more weevils than all of the preceding genera- 

 tions of the season put together. By the total destruction of 

 the cotton plants three to five weeks before the first hard kill- 

 ing frost (which is, roughly speaking, the time when weevils 

 seek hibernating quarters), the development of this last brood 

 of weevils is entirely prevented. By this step the farmer can 

 reduce by more than one-half, the number of weevils that would 

 ordinarily be present to go into hibernating quarters early in 

 December. Of equally as great importance is the fact that this 

 destruction of the cotton plants forces all weevils which have 



*LJulletin No. 51, Bureau of ! Entomology, p. 97. 



