2 BULLETIN 231, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



E. A. Schwarz and H. S. Barber in December, 1913. The results 

 of the explorations and research work are quite fully treated in the 

 body of this article. 



Mr. Cook's announcement, which was published in February, 1913, 1 

 was followed by departmental press notices issued in October of the 

 same year, and by a detailed article by Mr. W. D. Pierce describing 

 the Arizona weevil as a new variety, Anthonomus grandis var. tliur- 

 berise, issued November 10, 1913. 2 



A paper by the author on the food habits of the boll weevil in 

 Texas has recently been published. 3 



This bulletin deals with a number of rather technical experiments 

 and observations which have important bearings on the general boll- 

 weevil problem. The principal matters dealt with are, first, the exact 

 relation between the typical boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boh., 

 and the form A. grandis thurberise Pierce, which has recently been 

 found attacking a cottonlike plant in Arizona; and, second, the 

 changes in the habits of the boll weevil which have taken place since 

 it first entered the United States. 



The importance of the first point mentioned lies in the fact that the 

 western form of the h>oll weevil has adapted itself to life under ex- 

 tremely arid conditions, in which respect it differs conspicuously from 

 the typical boll weevil. It therefore appears that the western weevil 

 might thrive in the drier portions of Texas, where the typical weevil 

 has not been able to establish itself, and thus reduce the production of 

 cotton in a large area which has been depended upon to offset the loss 

 caused by the boll weevil in more humid regions. Consequently, 

 exact knowledge regarding the life history and habits of the Arizona 

 weevil and its relation to the typical weevil are of importance. 



The second matter dealt with in this bulletin, namely, the extent to 

 which the boll weevil has changed its habits since it has been in the 

 United States, is of great practical importance. More than 10 years 

 ago a careful study of the habits of the typical boll weevil was made at 

 Victoria, Tex. The present manuscript deals with similar studies just 

 completed at the same place. These studies give an exact basis for 

 estimating the extent of the departure from the original habits and 

 serve to bring greater accuracy into predictions as to the ultimate 

 nature of the boll-weevil problem in the United States. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



The discoveries of the year have added to the present knowledge of 

 the distribution of the species. On the accompanying map (fig. 1) 



i Cook, O. F. A wild host-plant of the boll weevil in Arizona. Science, n. s., v. 27, no. 946, p. 259-261, 

 Feb. 14, 1913. 



2 Pierce, W. D. The occurrence of a cotton boll weevil in Arizona. U. S. Dept. Agr., Jour. Agr. Research, 

 V. 1, no. 2, p. 89-96, Nov. 10, 1913. 



* Coad, B. R. Feeding habits of the boll-weevil on plants other than cotton. U, S. Dept, Agr., Jour, 

 Agr, Research, v. 2, no. 3, p. 235-245, June, 1914, 



