boll weevil

boll weevil

noun

Definition of BOLL WEEVIL

: a usually grayish or brown weevil (Anthonomus grandis grandis) that feeds on the squares and bolls of the cotton plant

First Known Use of BOLL WEEVIL

1895

Rhymes with BOLL WEEVIL

coeval, king's evil, medieval, primeval, reprieval, retrieval, upheaval

boll weevil

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis)—Harry Rogers

Small beetle (Anthonomus grandis) found almost everywhere cotton is cultivated. It is the most serious cotton pest in North America. Adults vary in size according to how much food they received as larvae, but they average about 0.25 in. (6 mm) long, including the long, curved snout. In the spring adults deposit eggs in cotton buds or fruit. After hatching, the larvae live within the cotton boll, destroying the seeds and surrounding fibres. Because the larvae and pupae remain inside the cotton bolls, they cannot be killed with insecticides. The boll weevil destroys an estimated three to five million bales of cotton annually.