The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) is a beetle that feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growing areas by the 1920s, devastating the industry and the people working in the American South.
What is a boll weevil?
The boll weevil ( Anthonomus grandis) is a beetle that feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growing areas by the 1920s, devastating the industry and the people working in the American South.
When did the boll weevil become a problem in South America?
During the late 20th century, it became a serious pest in South America as well. Since 1978, the Boll Weevil Eradication Program in the U.S. allowed full-scale cultivation to resume in many regions.
Did boll weevils bring about economic diversification in the southern US?
The boll weevil infestation has been credited with bringing about economic diversification in the Southern US, including the expansion of peanut cropping.
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What does the boll weevil do?
The boll weevil feeds on cotton pollen, but does its damage by laying eggs on cotton flower buds, called “squares,” or on the young developing cotton boll (the songs often address boll weevil as a “he” or “Mr.” but clearly the crop damage is done by the female and her young).
What did the boll weevil do to the South?
In 1915 and 1916, the boll weevil infestation ravaged cotton production in the South, resulting in the loss of many cotton crops. Many farmers, particularly African American sharecroppers, found themselves out of work, which led them to journey North in search of a better life.
When did the boll weevil hit the South?
Boll Weevil Honored Measuring an average length of six millimeters (one-quarter inch), the insect entered the United States via Mexico in the 1890s and reached southeastern Alabama in 1915. It remained the most destructive cotton pest in North America for much of the twentieth century.
What was the boll weevil in history?
History at a Glance A little more than a century ago, Anthonomus grandis (boll weevil) migrated from Mexico to the U.S. and spread rapidly throughout the Cotton Belt. Since then, it has cost America's cotton producers more than $15 billion - from yield losses and costs to control the insect pest.
How did the boll weevil change black southerners lives?
Relative to men of the same race born before the boll weevil's arrival, the boll weevil increased the wages of white men by 2.1% and decreased the wages of black men by 2.6%. Black men who were born after the boll weevil's arrival had 0.14 fewer years of education than black men born before its arrival.
How did the boll weevil affect the economy in Alabama?
Economic losses to the weevil in Alabama were $20 to $40 million each year for more than 80 years. Some historians maintain that the boll weevil was the most important event in Alabama history until the mid-twentieth century, eclipsed only by the Civil War.
What killed the boll weevil?
Malathion 57% is an organophosphate insecticide that can be applied to crops and non-crop plants to kill a wide variety of insects, including Boll Weevils. For large croplands, Malathion is primarily used with a professional skid sprayer or boom sprayer.
How did they get rid of the boll weevil?
The combination of the pheromone traps and the reproduction-diapause control method meant that, given cooperation on an area-wide basis, the boll weevil might be eradicated. And the pheromone traps cold also be used to confirm whether eradication efforts were successful.
What did boll weevil do to the cotton industry?
The boll weevil's decimation of the cotton industry in the South had implications for the entire region. The pest was a driving force behind the “great migration” of poor tenant farmers into northern cities, and the state's dependence on cash-crop production left its soil depleted and prone to erosion.
How did the boll weevil get into the United States?
Thought to be native to Mexico and Central America, the boll weevil is a beetle that attacks cotton plants. It first crossed into the United States in the 1890s around Brownsville, Tex., and quickly spread to the Atlantic Seaboard, nearly wiping out the cotton industry.
How did the boll weevil affect Mississippi?
Though the boll weevil caused significant damage elsewhere, no state depended on cotton the way Mississippi did. During its first year in Mississippi the weevil destroyed less than 1 percent of the state's cotton, but by 1913 it was present throughout the state and destroyed more than a third of the crop.
How did the arrival of the boll weevil affect the sharecropper and tenant farmer?
Finally, we demonstrate that the boll weevil's spread reduced the share of farms that were worked by black tenants, particularly in areas that historically relied on cotton farming. In short, tenancy increased the prevalence of early marriage among African Americans, and disruptions to tenancy had the opposite effect.
What did the boll weevil do to cotton crops?
Upon hatching, the boll weevil larvae or grubs feed in the square, causing it to be shed by the plant or rendering the bolls unsuitable for harvest. Before eradication the boll weevil was the chief pest of cotton in Georgia as well as in other areas of the cotton belt.
What killed the boll weevil?
Malathion 57% is an organophosphate insecticide that can be applied to crops and non-crop plants to kill a wide variety of insects, including Boll Weevils. For large croplands, Malathion is primarily used with a professional skid sprayer or boom sprayer.
What was the boll weevil?
Boll Weevil. Before eradication the boll weevil was the chief pest of cotton in Georgia as well as in other areas of the cotton belt. Indeed, the boll weevil was such an economic pest that it engendered an unprecedented amount of research and pesticide application. In 1972 it was estimated that one-third of all pesticides in ...
How did the Boll Weevil affect Georgia?
weevil greatly affected Georgia's long history of cotton production between 1915, when the insect was introduced to Georgia, and the early 1990s, when it was eliminated as an economic pest. Yield losses associated with the boll weevil reduced cotton acreage from a historical high of 5.2 million acres during 1914 to 2.6 million acres in 1923. Although insecticides provided temporary relief, the cotton industry remained unprofitable, and planted acreage continued to decline, to a low of 115,000 acres in 1983. The boll weevil's decimation of the cotton industry in the South had implications for the entire region. The pest was a driving force behind the "great migration" of poor tenant farmers into northern cities, and the state's dependence on cash-crop production left its soil depleted and prone to erosion.
What insecticides are used to kill boll weevils?
Intensive use of broad-spectrum insecticides for boll-weevil control, such as calcium arsenate and DDT, often caused outbreaks of other insect pests because these insecticides cause the destruction of natural enemies that suppress various pest species in cotton, such as parasites and predatory insects.
What is a cultural practice for boll weevil management?
Cultural practices for boll-weevil management, or non-insecticide means of reducing risk or avoiding particular insect infestations, include early planting, stimulating rapid plant growth and development with appropriate fertility and weed-management programs, and using early-maturing varieties.
When did Georgia get rid of the boll weevil?
In 1987 Georgia growers began participating in a program to eradicate the boll weevil. Over a period of years the program proved successful, and Georgia producers have increased cotton acreage and yields significantly while reducing their dependence on insecticides.
What is the BWEP in Georgia?
All cotton growers in Georgia are required to participate in the Boll Weevil Eradication Program (BWEP). Since elimination of the boll weevil as an economic pest, insecticide use in cotton has been reduced by approximately 75 percent, and yield losses associated with insects have been reduced by 50 percent.
What is a Boll Weevil?
Boll weevils (named for the type of beetle which feeds on cotton buds) was an American political term used in the mid- and late-20th century to describe conservative Southern Democrats . During and after the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, conservative Southern Democrats were part of the coalition generally in support ...
Why did the Boll Weevil get its name?
The group adopted the name of the boll weevil, a pest destructive to cotton crops, because of the difficulty of eradicating the weevil and the pest's range in the Southern United States.
When did the Boll Weevils fall out of favor?
Since 1988 , the term "boll weevils" has fallen out of favor. A bloc of conservative Democrats in the House, including some younger or newer members as well as the remaining boll weevils who refused to bow to pressure to switch parties, organized themselves as the "Blue Dogs" in the early 1990s.
Who was the first person to use the Boll Weevil?
Representative Howard W. Smith of Virginia took up the boll weevil as a symbol in the 1950s, during Dwight D. Eisenhower 's administration, but the term did not gain currency until the 1980s, when it was revived by Representative Charles W. Stenholm of Texas.
What party did the Boll Weevils join?
Most of the Democratic boll weevils eventually retired from politics, or in the case of some, such as Senators Phil Gramm of Texas and Richard Shelby of Alabama, switched parties and joined the Republicans. Since 1988, the term "boll weevils" has fallen out of favor. A bloc of conservative Democrats in the House, including some younger or newer members as well as the remaining boll weevils who refused to bow to pressure to switch parties, organized themselves as the "Blue Dogs" in the early 1990s. A different bloc of Democrats also emerged in the 1990s, under the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), espousing pro-business views on economic issues and moderate views on social issues.
What was the threat of the Boll Weevil?
It was clear to Percy and the rest of the planter elite that the approaching boll weevil was a profound threat not merely to their cotton plantations, but more importantly, to the social and economic system of the Delta that rested on the plant’s growth. The boll weevil was a danger both to planter power and to the very fabric of the human relationships that planters believed they controlled. The insect might as well have been a devourer of paper money or tenant contracts as of the cotton plant itself.
What did planters learn from the Boll Weevil?
Planters learned in the fight against the boll weevil that controlling information about the natural world was an effective means for controlling the people who worked it. This approach was one they would return to again and again. Ultimately, there is much that can be learned from the weevil’s Delta invasion and how these marauding insects exposed the extent to which landowners’ beliefs about nature were inseparable from their views on race, society, and economic power.
What was the difference between the South and the rest of the country in the early twentieth century?
Central to the South’s difference from the rest of the country in the early twentieth century were the roles played by farm laborers and race. This boll weevil story offers a glimpse into how powerful landowners thought about the connections between the vast plantations they owned and the people living and working there, who were mostly formerly enslaved people or their children.
Who wrote about the cotton boll weevil?
In late 1908, Mississippi Delta planter LeRoy Percy wrote a friend about the approaching cotton boll weevil. Sixteen years earlier, the insect pest had appeared in Texas and begun a slow march toward Percy’s fields. As the weevil drew near, Percy worried that his family’s Delta cotton kingdom teetered on the brink of destruction. “Without question,” Percy wrote, “the weevil will bring with him disaster.”
What did Alfred Holt Stone worry about?
If workers could so easily leave one cotton-growing region for another, Stone wondered, what would keep these workers in the Delta once the boll weevil arrived? For Stone and his neighbors, the answer was to worry first about keeping workers on their land. “We cannot make cotton without labor,” the planters argued, “and we cannot hold our labor if we pursue the suicidal policy of not only becoming frightened ourselves, but of showing our fright to our negroes.”
What is a boll weevil?
The boll weevil ( Anthonomus grandis) is not much to look at — just a grayish, little beetle with an impressively long snout. But this particular beetle, and its hunger for cotton, was powerful enough to forge an unprecedented partnership among farmers, legislators and scientists.
How did the boll weevil affect cotton?
Cotton production moved in advance of the weevil, creating a boom in cotton plantings in areas that were weevil-free. But as the cotton spread, so did the boll weevil — costing cotton growers billions in revenue.
How many sterile boll weevils were released?
Unfortunately, the sterile insect technique bombed. One million sterile boll weevil males were released in a trial. However, the sterile males couldn’t compete with their virile wild counterparts, and the trial was unsuccessful.
How does insecticide affect weevils?
Insect development is dependent on temperature, and lower temperatures slow down weevil development and reproduction. Mississippi scientists discovered that, by making multiple insecticide applications at short intervals during the autumn, they could both reduce the last reproductive generation of the weevils and significantly limit the survival of potentially overwintering adults. This was termed the reproduction-diapause control method.
Where are the boll weevils in Texas?
As a result, there is an ongoing battle to keep boll weevils in check in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, funded by an ongoing annual assessment from cotton-producing states, which is aimed at preventing — and tracking — the spread of boll weevil populations.
When was the boll weevil eradicated?
However, by 2009, the boll weevil was declared eradicated from all U.S. cotton-producing states, with one exception: Texas, which is the biggest cotton producer in the country.
Why was farmer participation mandatory?
Because of this, cooperation would be vital, given that there would be a temptation for individuals, or whole regions, to get a free ride, relying on the contributions of their neighbors to the eradication effort. So mandatory farmer participation was a must. One by one, each of the challenges were addressed , requiring close collaboration at every step.
What is a boll weevil?
The boll weevil ( Anthonomus grandis) is not much to look at – just a grayish, little beetle with an impressively long snout. But this particular beetle, and its hunger for cotton, was powerful enough to forge an unprecedented partnership between farmers, legislators and scientists. And that partnership showed how much can be accomplished ...
Where did the Boll Weevils come from?
What adult boll weevils lack in size they make up for with their larvae’s ability to feed on and destroy cotton. Boll weevils entered the U.S. from Mexico in the late 1800s, when they were first spotted in Texas. By the 1920s they had spread through all of the major cotton-producing areas in the country.
How many sterile boll weevils were released in the trial?
Second, it was reliant on a single host plant, cotton, which was also not native to the U.S. Unfortunately, the sterile insect technique bombed. One million sterile boll weevil males were released in a trial. But the sterile males couldn’t compete with their virile wild counterparts and the trial was unsuccessful.
How does the sterile insect technique work?
The sterile insect technique relies on flooding the environment with lots of sterile males. Those males then mate with females, but don’t produce any offspring. Knipling now envisioned eradication of the boll weevil, recognizing that it had two chinks in its armor.
How much insecticide was used to kill boll weevils?
The scope of the damage was breathtaking, as were the control efforts thrown at this insect: at one time, one-third of the insecticide used in the U.S. was used to combat boll weevils.
What would happen if eradication began?
Because of this, cooperation would be vital, given that there would be a temptation for individuals, or whole regions, to get a free ride, relying on the contributions of their neighbors to the eradication effort.
Where did the boll weevil trial take place?
This next step involved rolling out two companion trials in the late 1970s: one trial took place in Mississippi using the best known control methods for boll weevil at the time, while another trial tested the reproduction-diapause control method in North Carolina and Virginia.
How long do boll weevils live?
The complete life cycle of the boll weevil lasts approximately three weeks. Despite a short lifespan, their damage can be massive as one female is capable of laying up to 200 eggs.
What do weevils eat?
The boll weevil diet consists solely of cotton plants and closely related vegetation. During the larval stage, the boll weevil feeds on the cotton that surrounds it, thus rendering the bud and flower unusable in cotton harvests.
Do boll weevils eat cotton?
While homeowners may fear for the safety of their clothing and upholstery, boll weevils, unlike clothes moths, only eat cotton straight from the plant. The accidental invaders pose no threat to homes or human health.
Where do Boll Weevils live?
They have wings and a unique curved snout. Boll Weevils are mostly found in North America, particularly United States and Mexico and are most known for invading croplands to infest cotton plants and feed on cotton. Female Boll Weevils lay approximately 100 to 300 eggs inside cotton buds, grains, barley, rye and fruits.
How do you know if you have a Boll Weevil invasion?
The main sign to look for if you have an invasion of Boll Weevils are the Boll Weevils themselves. They will only breed and feed where they can find cotton plants, primarily cropland. If your home doesn't have any cotton plants, they have no business there and will be looking to find a way outdoors.
What insecticide to use for Boll Weevil?
For Boll Weevil infestations on croplands, we recommend a broadcast treatment of Malathion 57 Insecticide. For Boll Weevil invasions in homes, a simple vacuuming clean up and laying traps should eliminate the invaders.
What is the black bug in my house?
Have you come across little black bugs in your home? Or maybe you have a garden or crop area and have noticed them there. They very well could be a rare infestation of Boll Weevils.
How to trap weevils in house?
For homeowners, set up a glue trap like the Catchmaster 288 Insect Monitoring Trap to trap Weevils that may be straggling around. Preventatively, make sure to give outside items a thorough inspection before bringing them into the home.
Can Boll Weevils be found in clothing?
Boll Weevils can attach themselves to clothing or boxes or pieces of equipment that have come from somewhere else and accidentally ended up in your home. On croplands, you should walk around and observe your crops, in particular, where you are growing your cotton plants and any crops adjacent to the cotton plants.
Do Boll Weevils eat cotton?
While their affinity for cotton may make homeowners concerned for their clothing and furniture, you may be relieved to know that Boll Weevils only like eating cotton straight from the cotton plant. That's bad news if you are a farmer that is growing cotton.