Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-07-19
Pertinent Facts About the Boil
Weevi1

the. various other states of the cot.
ton belt which he has already in.
rested. He has taken up a perma-
nent residence and he will be with
us from this date forward. He
constltutes real menace to the
Welfare of the cotton farmer. Par
tlcularty is this true il we fail to
acqualnt~ ourselves with his char
acteristics and habits and the meth
oos OF meeting and overcoming his
expectations. He may cause a loss
OF anywhere from 20 to 60 per cent
OF :1he cotton crop in a given year,
IN some. seasons the damage done
by the weevil will not be so mark
come and go; in a sense like the
waves of the ocean. Now that he
mas come to be a permanent board
er at our tables the sensible thing
much about him as possible, dis
cover his. weaknesses and apply the
best combat tive measures possible
calculated to accomplish his de-
struction To this end 1 invite your
attention to some recent informa-
ton of Professors Childs and Ward
relative to the life, history and
habits of the boil weevil.
b 1t is necessary to have some in
r formation in regard to the life his
tory and habits of the boil weevil
tive fight can be made. Rules for
boil weevil control and for the pro-
duction of cotton under boil weevil
conditions can rarely be followed
to the letter, nor. can rules for
general distribution be made to fit
of the habits of the boil weevil will
enable the. cotton grower to plan
the fight to fit his own individual
There are four stages in the life
history of the boil weevil: Egg, lar
va, .pupa and adult. It is probably
best known and most often observed
in the, adult stage when it is seen
as a reddish brown to slate gray
weevil -. crawling about on the
ana feeding and laying eggs in
squares and bolls.
The adult weevil is one-tenth inch
to one-fourth inch in length and
varies in color from light reddish
oroWn TO slate gray. or in some
in size is due to the amount Of
food available in the larva stage.
Those produced from small squares
are small in size,. while those grow
Ing in larger. squares, or in bolls
are usually large.
The variation: in color Is usually
associated with a difference in age.
\ The. young weevils which have just
matched out are light reddish brown.
This color changes gradually to
darker brown. then light gray,
and finally TO. dark gray. or gray
ish black as the weevil grows old
er.
The first stage in the history of
the weevil is the egg. The female
weevil makes a puncture in the
in this tiny puncture and seals the
opening. These eggs are not laid
in any other plant except cotton,
nor in any part of the cotton plant
except IN squares and young hollis.
The egg matches within one to fiji
teen days after being laid. The
usual time is three or four days.
weather and longest in cool, dry
/ weather
The female weevil seems to pre-
fer to lay the egg in a square and
rarely is more than one egg laid
in single square. When the num-
Der of weevils is large and there
art art fey squares eggs will be LAID
in !. one boil. When an egg is. laid
lin square the square flares open,
teen days it fails fall to the he ground nc nd
The young boil that is punctured
does not fall to he ground, but
the weevil natures and emerges
from the boil while it is still on
the plant.
EACH female weevil lays from one
to a6ou +i I've HUNDRED eggs 6 dTrins
males is probably about. one hun
dred and fifty: eggs. The egg laying
period is about thirty to forty days
and weeyils lay one to as high as
twenty-five eggs per day during
this period. The average is about,
four or five per day.
The second stage is the larva or
grub A small larva matches from
the egg and. feeds on the tissues
of the square, or boil in which it
or worm, is very small when hatch
ed. but grows rapidly as it feeds.
1t resembles the worm so often
found in peach or plum. It is
the feeding of this worm that causes
the square to fall to the ground
boil. The larva develops in from
seven. to forty-fiye or fifty days,
depending upon temperature and
amount of moisture. In average
about ten to fifteen days, but in
cool, dry. fall weather it takes much
4 longer to develop.
When. the larva is full grown it
goes into the pupa stage. 1t does
no feeding in this stage, which is
On the inside Of the square or boil.
During this inactive stage the
larva gradually changes it's shape.
1t grows snout,. wings and legs,
and 9 na Wyev becomes Rftes fill is gf fiR
Xgrown It cuts. a hole in the square
or boil and comes out and begins
feeding. A great many young, new
ly emerged weevi1s may be found
feeding on the pollen in the newly
Hopened white blossoms just before
or about noon, almost any time in
Hate: summer.
The pupa stage is usually three
to seven. days. but in cool, dry
weather it may be longer.
The female weevils do not begin
to lay eggs until three to eighteen
days after emerging from the square
or boil. Mating Of male and female
weevi1s takes place during this time
The entire time from egg through
larya and pupa stage to adult wee
vii Of a new generation: will aver tLo
summer, but during the fall it may
be much longer than that.
Boil weevils have wings and are
capable of flying but ordinarily they
three times during the season when
a great. many of them fly. One of
these times is in the spring when
they are going from alternating
quarters to the cotton fields. Many
Of them probably make several sue
cessive short flights until they fn-
ally find cotton.
Another season when many of
them fly is when. cold nather comes
at the beginning Of winter. Many
of them fly from the fields in
search of alternating places whore
they will be protected during the
winter.
The. time when they probably fly
farthest and the time when their
flight has carried them into new
uninfested territory is during late
summer sand early fall. There are
ss e SUN sum raer because onlv iiei9 small
number live over winter, but they
multiply rapidly and as they com
manly do not travel very far the