That Evil Weevil! Trivia Game | Invertebrates

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What type of insect is the boll weevil?

Answer: Beetle

The boll weevil's scientific name is Anthonomus grandis. It is about a quarter of an inch in length, has a long snout and is a gray/black color in adulthood. Researchers believe that it is native to Central America and Mexico. This insect migrated into America during the latter part of the nineteenth century.

2. The boll weevil moved into the United States from neighboring Mexico just prior to the turn of the twentieth century. Entry was gained by crossing which river near Brownsville, Texas?

Answer: Rio Grande

Modern research showed that boll weevil specimens were found near Veracruz, Mexico in the mid 1800s and were likely there for thousands of years. Entomologists first became aware of the boll weevil as a pest in the USA in 1880 and was formally announced in 1894 when firmly entrenched in the state of Texas.

3. During the 1920s, farmers in the American south were financially devastated by the destruction of their crops caused by boll weevils. Which crop in particular was affected?

Answer: Cotton

All cotton growing regions in the southern USA were infested with the peak in 1921 when crop yields had a 34 percent reduction and the problem made worse by the Great Depression of the 1930s. Into the 21st century the boll weevil still remains the most problematic pest for cotton producers.

4. Boll weevils generally adapt very well to climate and temperature extremes.

Answer: False

In below freezing temperatures most of the boll weevils begin to die off. The reduction in population will depend on the harshness of winter and some may even survive by the insulation provided from crop debris. During the extreme heat and drought of summer, boll weevil populations are also decreased.

5. After winter dormancy, the female boll weevil begins to lay its eggs within the cotton plant and approximately three weeks will elapse before they develop into adulthood.

Answer: True

The eggs are deposited within the cotton buds and will hatch within a week. The larvae will then feed on the buds for about ten days before they pupate and will finally become adults in less than seven days.

6. The boll weevil does not have any natural predators.

Answer: False

They have many natural predators including the fire ants, spiders, birds and wasps. In particular, red imported fire ants and parasitic wasps attack the larvae and pupae, not giving the boll weevil the opportunity to mature into adulthood.

7. In addition to North America, the emergence of the boll weevil was also detected on which continent in the twentieth century?

Answer: South America

The boll weevil was first detected in Venezuela and Colombia during the middle of the twentieth century. Later, they spread into the Amazon Rainforest and into Brazil damaging most of the cotton farms. Subsequently, Paraguay and Argentina were affected also.

8. The Boll Weevil Eradication Program was introduced in 1978 by the United States government to rid the cotton industry of the boll weevil using techniques designed to reduce the costly use of pesticides. Along which bordering states was the program first implemented?

Answer: Virginia and North Carolina

The three methods used to eradicate the boll weevil include the setting of traps for detection using pheromone, conscientious reduction of their food supply and the use of malathion spraying which has a low level of toxicity to humans. The program was a success and into the 2000s the boll weevil has been driven out of most areas of the USA.

9. As a result of extermination programs by the United States Department of Agriculture, the boll weevil was completely eliminated from the American cotton industry by the end of the twentieth century.

Answer: False

By the year 2000, eradication programs had eliminated the boll weevil from most of the states but it continued to be a major problem in areas of Texas near the Mexican border. Post eradication remains in place in those states previously affected to prevent re-emergence.

10. The Boll Weevil Monument is an American landmark that was, ironically, built to honor the boll weevil for its influence on the agricultural industry. In which state is this structure located?

Answer: Alabama

The monument can be found in Enterprise, Alabama. It was built in 1919 by the citizens to mark their new found prosperity as a result of having changed their crop farming choices, to peanut farming initially and then to other types. Cotton was eventually grown again once the boll weevil came under control.

Source: Author lout62001

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That Evil Weevil! Trivia Quiz

This quiz will cover the facts about the boll weevil and its destructive ways.

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