Experiments made with A. grandis and A. grandis var. thurberiae on Hibiscus 

 syriacus showed that it was quite possible for the insect to breed in the buds, and 

 it seems probable that this would not be unusual. Louisiana and Texas boll weevils 

 and the Arizona Thurberia weevil were all tested, the conduct of the 3 types in 

 relation to feeding being practically the same. All showed the same preference for 

 feeding first on the corolla and the stamens of the flower, followed by the buds, 

 and then the fruit. The longevity of weevils fed on Hibiscus was little short of 

 those fed on cotton. No weevils have been found breeding on plants other than 

 cotton and Thurberia under field conditions, except a single individual on Hibiscus 

 syriacus at Victoria, Tex., in June, 1913. 



1914 - Howard, L. O. Report of the entomologist for the year ended 30 June, 1914. 



U. S. D. A. Ann. Rpt. Wash., D.C. 



"Proof has been obtained that the cotton boll weevil has changed somewhat 

 structurally since entering the United States, that it has become adapted to greater 

 severities of climate, and is also now able to obtain subsistence and possibly to 

 develop on certain plants related to cotton, among which are Hibiscus syriacus 

 and Callirrhoe involucrata." 



1915 - Coad, B. R. Recent studies of the Mexican cotton boll weevil. U. S. D. A. B. 



231:34. 



Present (1914) distribution extends from Costa Rica, north on the western 

 slope of Mexico; north on the eastern slope of Mexico through eastern Texas, 

 Louisiana, southern Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama, and southward through 

 Yucatan, to central Cuba. 



Food plants associated with the boll weevil are: Gossypium hirsutum , G_. 

 herbaceum , G. barbadense , G. brasiliense , Thurberia thespesoides , and Hibiscus 

 syriacus . 



Partial development has been noted on Callirrhoe involucrata , C. pedata and 

 Sphaeralcea lindheimeri . 



A detailed description of Anthonomus grandis Boh. and A. grandis thurberiae 

 Pierce is included. 



1916 - Worsham, E. L. Ga. State Bd. Ent. B. 44. March. Atlanta. 



A. grandis is able to maintain itself on native Malvaceous and other plants, 

 and this fact should be taken into account when considering methods of control. 



1933 - Gaines, R. C. Progress report on the development of the boll weevil on plants 



other than cotton. J. Econ. Ent. 26(5):940-943. 



To determine whether the elimination of cotton would result in the extermi- 

 nation of A. grandis , tests were carried out in Louisiana in 1932, in which hiber- 

 nated weevils that had emerged from cotton squares placed in breeding cages or 

 had been collected from the field were confined with 5 species of malvaceous 

 plants. They fed freely on buds and blooms of Hibiscus syriacus and on the buds, 

 blooms, and seed pods of H. militaris and less freely on blooms and seed pods of 

 H. lasiocarpus . They fed sparingly on buds and seed pods of hollyhock ( Althea 

 rosea ), and were not observed to feed on okra (H. esculentus ). Some larvae 

 hatched from eggs deposited externally on calyces or seed pods of H. militaris 

 and H. lasiocarpus , but died, apparently without feeding. No eggs were deposited 

 on hollyhock or okra. Three females developed from eggs laid normally in buds 

 of H. syriacus . 



1934 - Gaines, R. C. The development of the boll weevil on plants other than cotton. 



J. Econ. Ent. 27(4):745-748. 



In further studies on Anthonomus grandis Boh. in Louisiana, 58 plants rep- 

 resenting 4 species of Hibiscus were grown in an infested cotton field 1 to 12 

 feet apart with cotton plants growing between them and in adjoining rows. In buds 

 collected from H. syriacus in August-September, 7 boll weevils developed, 

 emerging after 1 to 16 days. This is apparently the first time that A. grandis 

 has been found breeding in a plant other than cotton or Thurberia , under field 

 conditions. 



157 



