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Factors Influencing Survival of Overwintering Boll Weevils (Anthonomus Grandis) in Northeast Arkansas

Theresa L. Singer, Donald R. Johnson, Larry M. Page, Harry B. Myers, Clark D. Klein and Ralph Bagwell


 
ABSTRACT

We examined different parameters that influence the survival of overwintering populations of the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman. Spring and fall surveys of boll weevil densities were conducted using Grandlure pheromone traps in 1994, 1995, and 1996 in four counties in Arkansas. Various habitat types were sampled in each county, and the average number of weevils caught in each habitat was calculated. Traps around wooded areas consistently contained the highest average of trapped boll weevils in all counties sampled. In Fall 1996, trap-caught boll weevils were dissected to determine their fat content and the condition of their reproductive organs in order to determine the diapause status of the boll weevil populations over time. Laboratory experiments were performed in Fall/Winter 1996 in which diapause-conditioned boll weevils were placed in containers and were submerged in a cold circulation bath at freezing or sub-freezing temperatures for varying hours per day for one to several days. Containers were either empty, or filled with dried grass or leaf material that either remained dry or was moistened prior to introducing the weevils. Laboratory results showed that very low temperatures and wet substrate are the least suitable conditions for boll weevil survival.



Reprinted from Proceedings of the 1997 Beltwide Cotton Conferences pp. 960 - 965
©National Cotton Council, Memphis TN

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Document last modified Sunday, Dec 6 1998