Boll Weevil Oviposition Responses in Cotton Squares and Various Other Substrates1

Laboratory experiments conducted in 1961-62 at Baton Rouge, La., showed that boll weevils, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, preferred cotton squares weighing about 319 mg for oviposition. Square size and coating with paraffin on squares had very little influence on puncturing preference. Weevils punctured paraffin shells with curved tops more frequently than those with flat tops. Shells about 8 mm in diameter and 9 mm high were preferred to larger shells. A water-soluble component of cotton anthers stimulated egg deposition. This material, not extractable with acetone. passed through a cellophane dialysis membrane.