Animalia > Arthropoda > Insecta > Coleoptera > Curculionoidea > Curculionidae > Anthonomus > Anthonomus grandis| | Anthonomus grandis (boll weevil) | |
The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) is a beetle measuring an average length of six millimeters, which feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central America, 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. During the late 20th century it became a serious pest in South America as well. |
Anthonomus grandis is a brown to greyish-brown beetle native of Mexico to Central America and invasive in the United States. A. grandis feeds and develops only in cotton and closely related tropical (malvaceous) plants. In temperate zones A. grandis spends the winter in an adult reproductive dormancy where it subsists without food until it returns to cotton in the early spring. In subtropical and tropical areas adults are periodically active during warm periods of the non-cotton production seasons, and will feed and reproduce whenever suitable hosts are available. A. grandis has caused serious losses to the cotton industry in the United States. Recent eradication programs and management strategies have reduced A. grandis populations dramatically and have prompted a rebound in the cotton market within the United States. |
C. Amerika; SW Ver. Staaten, C. Amerika, verschleppt nach S. Afrika; Species recognized by Alonso-Zarazaga M.A.& Lyal C.H.C., 2010, WTaxa: Electronic Catalogue of Weevil names (Curculionoidea) in  Attributes / relations provided by ♦ 1Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 01, 2010 at animaldiversity.org |
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