The Prescott daily news., 1912-05-03

the overwlnter weev1ls that have emerged feed upon the opening leaves or bud of the little cotton. Early in the morning it is an easy matter to find the weevils in the buds of the little cotton. It is not at all difficult to pick them off the buds of the little cotton and destroy them.
 The only reason why we cannot eradicate the weevil by thoroughly picking them off the little cotton is that the majority of the overwnitored weevils do not emerge until after the squares begin to form on the cotton. As soon as squares form on the cotton the weevil gets on the inside of the bracts and feeds only by inserting it's beak deeply into the squares. After the squares begin to form on the cot ton 1t is hardly practicable to pick the weevils off the cotton.
 The over-wintered weevils cannot multiply until squares form on the cotton. The weevil passes the winter in the adult stage and breeds only in squares and bolls. The most CorsDicu- ?ps inpqic2ttikoa of the presence of the boil Weevil is the faring of the squares. When the weevil punctures square it turns yellow and the bracts flare" open. The punctured square usually falls to the ground in Q few days
 The overwintered weevils live on'J a few weeks after they emerge from winter quarters in the spring If the little cotton is thoroughly picked two or three times just a few days before the squares begin to form on the cot ton and every punctured square de stroyed for at least one month after the first squares form practically all of the over-wintered weevils will be dead and there will be no young wee vils. If it were possible to destroy every punctured square and boil and thereby prevent the appearance of new brOods, the weevils could be ex- terminated in one year. While 1t Is not possible to destroy every pune tured square and boil, we can by care full and painstaking work get practi- cally all of the punctured squares while the cotton is small.
 The beneficial results obtained from picking the punctured squares de bends mainly upon the seasons. When the punctured squares fall to dry ground in July and August and are subjected to the unobstructed rays of the hot sun. practically all of the lar vac and pupae are killed. Where the soil is dry and the cotton small prac- tically all of the "grubs" in the pune tured squares are killed during the hot, fair weather. especially if there is dust mulch on the ground. If the soil is moist, the rows narrow, the cotton rank and shades the ground, or if 1t Is cloudy practically all of the grubs in the punctured squares will come to maturity unless the squares are picked and destroyed The more moisture in the ground, the more rank ly the cotton grows and the more the ground is shaded, the greater the ne cessity for gathering and destroying the punctured squares. Under any and all conditions it is certainly ad- visable to collect all the punctured squares for at least one month after the first squares form on the cotton. The soil is cool at this season of the year and the sun is seldom very hot It is not advisable to burn the pune tured sQuares, The punctured squares should be placed in wire cages for the reason that many weevil larvae in the infested squares harbor parasites. These parasites prey upon the boil weeviL There are about 25 species of parasites which by means of their ovi- positors place eggs on the larvae and pupae of the weevil within the square The young of the parasites feeds upon the immature boil weevil which it kills. The bureau of entomology re- cords one instance in field near Rob- son, La, where the parasites killed IT per cent. of the weevils. About the same time 61 per cent of the weevils in a field near Victoria, Texas, were killed by parasites.
 The meshes of the wire cage to put the punctured squares in should be at least 16 to the inch. The parasites are very small and can easily escape while the weevils will soon die for lack of food. A timer will make the cages at a small cost.
 The destruction of myriads of wee wills can be accomplished during the growing season by working in cooper atiop. with tho yo{,ral o~o.o;o. tAo<