Free-choice and no-choice plant resistance studies with boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) and tobacco budworm (Heliothis virescens) were conducted with five species of Gossypium. The species were G. arboreum, G. bickii, G. herbaceum, G. hirsutum (commercial cotton), and G. somalense. The exotic species were more resistant to both insects than G. hirsutum. The most resistant species were probably G. bickii and G. somalense based on feeding and egg-laying preference of boll weevils; and feeding preference, growth and survival of tobacco budworms. Exotic species of Gossypium can provide new sources of insect resistance.