Crossword Dictionary
Boll Weevil
Boll weevil, (Anthonomus grandis), beetle of the insect family Curculionidae (order Coleoptera), a cotton pest in North America. Introduced to the United States from Mexico in the 1890s, the boll weevil was a severe agricultural pest for nearly 90 years, until the launch of an aggressive multiyear eradication campaign in 1978. The campaign almost, progressing slowly but effectively, completely eradicated the boll weevil from cotton-producing states, primarily through aerial release of the insecticide malathion. The boll weevil infestation is estimated to have caused crop losses of 30 to 50 percent in infested areas. The eradication program led to increased crop yields (by 10 percent or more) and a dramatic decrease in the use of insecticides (40–100 percent), leading to a reduction in production costs. In 2013 Texas was the only state to still have areas with boll weevil infestations.
Weevil
Weevil is a beetle belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than 6 mm (1â„4 in) in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, with most of them in the family Curculionidae (the true weevils). It also includes bark beetles, which while morphologically dissimilar to other weevils in lacking the distinctive snout, is a subfamily of Curculionidae. Some other beetles, although not closely related, bear the name "weevil", such as the biscuit weevil (Stegobium paniceum), which belongs to the family Ptinidae.
Many weevils are considered pests because of their ability to damage and kill crops. The grain or wheat weevil (Sitophilus granarius) damages stored grain, as does the maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais) among others. The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) attacks cotton crops; it lays its eggs inside cotton bolls and the larvae eat their way out. Other weevils are used for biological control of invasive plants.
A weevil's rostrum, or elongated snout, hosts chewing mouthparts instead of the piercing mouthparts that proboscis-possessing insects are known for. The mouthparts are often used to excavate tunnels into grains. In more derived weevils, the rostrum has a groove in which the weevil can fold the first segment of its antennae.
A 1995 classification system to family level was provided by Kuschel, with updates from Marvaldi et al. in 2002, and was achieved using phylogenetic analyses. The accepted families were the primitive weevils, Anthribidae, Attelabidae, Belidae, Brentidae, Caridae, and Nemonychidae, and the true weevils Curculionidae. Most other weevil families were demoted to subfamilies or tribes. Further work resulted in the elevation of Cimberididae to family from placement as a subfamily of Nemonychidae.