Kaolin, a reflective white mineral, mixed with water and applied as a coating to excised cotton squares, squares on whole cotton plants, or to foliage initially resulted in lower oviposition and feeding injuries to squares. When alternative untreated food and oviposition sources were increasingly used and in short supply, boll weevils made greater use of treated squares and squares on cotton plants with treated foliage until there were no significant differences in boll weevil damage between treated and untreated cotton plants and squares. It is likely that boll weevils make host selections based to some extent on color, but this can be overcome if boll weevils also select using other cues. A field trial indicated that boll weevils might be able to distinguish among cotton fields based on color differences caused by application of kaolin, and the ability to distinguish appears to influence relative levels of infestation.