26 TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENOES. 



vils which at once crawl or fly 

 around, if disturbed. One of the 

 photo cuts shows several of the 

 mature insects; they are so lively 

 and tenacious to kill that they had 

 to be chloroformed before a photo 

 reproduction could be made of 

 them. The following cut shows 



Microscopic appearance of the Boll Weevil's 

 Nostrils, or Boring Apparatus, considerably 

 magnifi d, showing part of head, eyes, nostrils, 

 antennae, and the curved fangs on end parts. 



the microscopic appearance of the 

 nostril or boring apparatus of the 

 boll-weevil. It shows the front 

 part of its head with both eyes 

 (partly destroyed from pressure 

 in mounting), the long and slight- 

 ly curved proboscis with two deli- 

 cate feelers (antennae), and its 

 extreme end part is supplied with 

 two curved fangs. The latter un- 

 doubtedly serve to lacerate the 

 tissues of the cotton plant, espe- 

 cially the cotton bolls and buds 

 whence they bore further and 

 through the entire capsule or buds. 

 A sub-species of this insect is 

 occasionally very numerously en- 

 countered in other plants, espe- 

 cially in cereals; and perhaps 

 those injuring corn, acorns, beans 

 and peas, etc., belong to the same 

 class. They bore, with a similar 

 proboscis as the one of the boll- 



weevil, through the outer hull of 

 the corn, etc., and perhaps hiber- 

 nate there until favorable condi- 

 tions produces new crops of these 

 pestiferous insects. Some months 

 ago I noticed in the so-called 

 Mexican beans a great number of 

 these insects; they had not been 

 noticed until cooking the beans, 

 when the shriveled, dark objects 

 were noticed inside the shell in 

 the comer of the beans and they 

 resembled very much the cotton 

 boll-weevil. 



The body of the boll-weevil is 

 of dark grey color, broad at the 

 rear and narrow toward the head 

 which is supplied, as stated, with 

 the long, curved proboscis and 

 antennae or feelers. Some writer 

 in the Galveston News related his 

 experience on boll-weevils cap- 

 tured alive and placed in a tightly 

 corked bottle. He brought this 

 bottle to an ice factory and there 

 froze it in the middle of a 200- 

 pound cake of ice. After this the 

 cake of ice was put on exhibition 

 on the street. "After melting. 



Seven Cotton Boll Weevils Magnified 

 Slightly 



the weevils were exposed to the 

 sunshine and after thirty hours 

 captive in this frozen state it was 

 proven that the weevils showed 

 signs of active life." No wonder 

 the search for an agent, chemicals 

 or otherwise, is baffling the minds 

 of researchers. Fortunately though 

 some ways and means undoubted- 

 ly will be found to capture and 

 destroy them. 



