Head to head
Vine Weevil vs Boll Weevil
Vine Weevil
VS Boll Weevil
The vine weevil and the boll weevil are two of the most notorious plant-eating weevils, one in gardens and nurseries and the other in cotton fields.
| Vine Weevil | Boll Weevil | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Otiorhynchus sulcatus | Anthonomus grandis |
| Relationship | A weevil with a short snout | A weevil with a long, curved snout |
| Target plants | Pot plants, cyclamen, primulas, fuchsias, and strawberries | Cotton plants, specifically |
| Damage | The adults notch leaf edges, and the white, C-shaped grubs eat plant roots and can kill pot plants | The larvae develop hidden inside the cotton boll, and the adults feed on buds and developing bolls |
| Reproduction | Adults are almost all female and lay fertile eggs without mating | A female lays eggs inside a cotton boll or bud, using a hole made with her snout |
| Origin | Native to Europe, and an introduced pest in North America, Australia, and other regions | Native to Mexico and Central America, and spread to the southern United States in the late nineteenth century |
| Control | Parasitic nematodes watered onto the soil can control the grubs in gardens and nurseries | A long-running, coordinated eradication programme has dramatically reduced the pest across much of the southern United States |
| Conservation status | Not Evaluated, and abundant as a pest | Least Concern, though largely controlled through eradication programmes |
Vine Weevil vs Boll Weevil: common questions
Which weevil has no males?
The vine weevil, whose adults are almost all female and lay fertile eggs without mating.
Which weevil has a monument?
The boll weevil, which has a monument in Enterprise, Alabama, honouring how its devastation of cotton forced farmers to diversify.
Where do the grubs live?
The vine weevil grub lives in the soil eating roots, whereas the boll weevil larva develops hidden inside the cotton boll.