How to Identify a Boll Weevil

"Anthonomus grandis" is an impressive name for an insect that has single-handedly caused losses of $14 billion since it emigrated from Mexico to the U.S. in 1892. Better known as the boll weevil, it is the scourge of farmers. It snacks on only one food, cotton, but the devastation it's causing led the government to name it the "number one agricultural pest in America." Follow these steps to identify a boll weevil.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Remember the huge snout on a boll weevil. This most distinguishing identifying characteristic makes you think of an anteater. A boll weevil's snout takes up to half of the body size and is used for feeding. Boll weevils belong to a group called snout beetles.

2. Watch for an insect that is tiny--only 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch long.

3. Depend on something besides color to identify a boll weevil. Adults come in brown, reddish-brown, black, gray and tan.

4. Look for a humpback shaped hard shell to identify a boll weevil.

5. Study the front legs. A boll weevil has two spurs on the first joint of each leg.

6. Keep an eye out near old cotton fields in winter. This is where boll weevils like to hibernate, although some remain in cotton bolls during the winter season. When the cotton buds form in the spring, female boll weevils get busy and lay around 200 eggs inside the buds. Within three weeks, boll weevils go from eggs to larvae to pupa to adulthood. All the while, they feast on cotton.

Tips & Warnings

• The only way to destroy boll weevils is through insecticides. Contact local agricultural experts for advice.
• Work fast because boll weevils work faster. They can travel anywhere from 40 to 160 miles a year.