This weevil is a small gray or reddish-brown snout-beetle hardly over a quarter of an inch in length. In proportion to its length it has a long beak. It belongs to a family of beetles which breed in pods, in seeds, and in stalks of plants. It is a greedy eater, but feeds only on the cotton plant.
Fig. 173. Eggs among the Anthers of a Square at the Point Indicated by the Arrow | Fig. 174. Cross Section showing Anthers of a Square with Egg of Weevil, and showing the Hole where the Egg was deposited Greatly enlarged |
Fig. 175. The Larva
of the Cotton-Boll Weevil
injuring a Square
Fig. 176. Pupa of Cotton-Boll
Weevil from above
and below
Greatly enlarged
The grown weevils try to outlive the cold of winter by hiding snugly away under grass clumps, cotton-stalks, rubbish, or under the bark of trees. Sometimes they go down into holes in the ground. A comfortable shelter is often found in the forests near the cotton fields, especially in the moss on the trees. The weevils can stand a good deal of cold, but fortunately many are killed by winter weather. Moreover birds destroy many; hence by spring the last year's crop is very greatly diminished.
Fig. 177. The Pupa of the
Cotton-Boll Weevil
in a Square
In the spring, generally about the time cotton begins to form "squares," the weevils shake off their long winter sleep and enter the cotton fields with appetites as sharp as razors. Then shortly the females begin to lay eggs. At first these eggs are laid only in the squares, and generally only one to the square. The young grub hatches from these eggs in two or three days. The newly hatched grub eats the inside of the square, and the square soon falls to the ground. Entire fields may at times be seen without a single square on the plants. Of course no fruit can be formed without squares.