Halloween Special: Boll Weevils with Paul Csomo

Field, Lab, Earth

Boll weevils are an agricultural pest that feeds primarily on cotton. After their arrival in the 1890s, they caused devastation across the South-Eastern United States, starting a battle that’s raged for more than 130 years. This episode, Paul Csomo of the award-winning Varmints! podcast joins us to discuss these creatures, their adaptions, and their agricultural history.

Tune in to learn:

• How many types of weevils are in the world
• How boll weevils shaped agriculture in the South-Eastern United States
• How scientists, farmers, and government agencies united to eradicate the boll weevil threat
• How boll weevils have slipped into pop culture today

If you would like to find transcripts for this episode or sign up for our newsletter, please visit our website: http://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/

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If you would like to reach out to Paul, you can find him here: [e-mail] Twitter: @varmintspodcast

Resources

CEU Quiz: https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning-Center/Courses/Course-Detail?productid=%7b66F129ED-AA32-EC11-8139-005056A7AFA5%7d

Varmints! Podcast: https://varmints.podbean.com/

Matt Shipman, NC State, 2017: The Boll Weevil War, or How Farmers and Scientists Saved Cotton in the South: https://news.ncsu.edu/2017/05/boll-weevil-war-2017/

Boll Weevil by The Presidents of the United States of America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uBmii5es7Q

Boll Weevil Monument: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boll_Weevil_Monument

Boll Weevil Economic Impact: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boll_weevil#Impact

Encyclopedia Entry for Boll Weevil: https://www.britannica.com/animal/boll-weevil

National Cotton Council of America: https://www.cotton.org/tech/pest/bollweevil/eradication4.cfm

The Great Migration: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/great-migration#:~:text=The%20Great%20Migration%20was%20the,from%20about%201916%20to%201970

The Boll Weevil in Missouri: https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g4255

Boll Weevil Eradication: https://www.cotton.org/tech/pest/bollweevil/eradication2.cfm

Boll Weevil general info: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Anthonomus_grandis/

Field, Lab, Earth is copyrighted to the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.