Picture Sheet No. 21 
THE PINK BOLLWORM 
( Pectinophora gossypiella Saunders) 
Injury and Life History 
The pink bollworm is the most serious pest of cotton in many parts of the 
world, including- India, China, Egypt, Brazil, and Argentina. It occurs in the 
principal cotton-growing areas of Mexico, except near the west coast and in 
Lower California. The pink bollworm was first discovered in the United States 
near Hearne, Tex., in September 1917. It is now present in only 5 of the 19 
cotton-growing States — Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida. 
Infestations in Louisiana and Georgia have been eradicated. Were it not for 
the persistent and effective fight conducted during the past 30 years by the 
United States Department of Agriculture and the States in which this insect 
has made its appearance it would now be in all the cotton-growing areas. 
The small pinkish caterpillars eat out the seeds of the cotton plant and thus 
reduce the yield, weight, vitality, and oil content of the seeds. They also 
reduce the quantity and quality of the lint. Severe infestations cause squares 
and small bolls to shed. The female lays from 100 to 200 eggs, which are 
scarcely visible to the naked eye. The young caterpillar bores into a square 
or boll, where it feeds for 10 to 14 days. When full grown, it cuts a round 
hole through the boll and either changes to a pupa within the boll or drops to 
the ground to pupate. Development from egg to adult requires 25 to 30 days 
in midsummer. There may be as many as 4 to 6 generations a year where 
long growing seasons occur. Larvae that develop late in the season may pass 
the winter in seed, old bolls, trash in the fields or at the gins, and in cracks in 
the soil. 
Control 
A strict quarantine is maintained on those areas in which the pink bollworm 
occurs, to regulate the movement of products likely to carry the pest to other 
cotton-growing districts. The most successful method of combating an out- 
break of the pink bollworm in an area not highly susceptible to constant re- 
infestation from old infested areas is elimination of cotton production for 
1 to 3 years. An important method of control is a combination of cultural 
practices designed to shorten the breeding season for the insect and to reduce 
carry-over of larvae from one season to the next. It consists in planting 
quick-maturing types of cotton within a short period as early in the year as 
possible, early destruction of cotton stalks to create a host-free condition, de- 
struction of stub or volunteer plants before they fruit, and deep plowing to 
cover overwintering larvae and thus prevent moths from emerging. Cutting 
and piling of stalks and shattered debris, followed by burning of the entire 
mass, will also destroy many overwintering larvae. Heavy winter irrigations 
are helpful where possible. Treating of cottonseed to destroy any pink boll- 
worms present, together with sanitary measures such as burning of gin trash 
at the gins, is essential. DDT shows promise as a supplement to other control 
measures. 
Any insect resembling the pink bollworm which is found in areas thought to 
be free of this insect should be placed in a bottle of diluted alcohol and sent to 
the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, Washington 25, D. C., with 
full information as to date and place of collection and by whom. 
April 1948 U. S. Government Printing Office 
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. 
U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 16 — 54643^1 
Price 5 cents 
