h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Boll Weevil, n. An insect associated with the destruction of cotton crops, the boll weevil gets its name from its consumption of the buds, or *bolls* that bloom and ultimately produce the lint that is commonly known as cotton.

Ugly little buggers, too. But, as with many other things, the history of the boll weevil is both curious and interesting.

The boll weevil first arrived in the Americas in the 1700s, probably in South America, and probably brought in cotton shipments from Egypt, and spreading into Mexico by the early 1800s. By the late 1800s, the weevil had made its way across the Rio Grande, and had spread like wildfire throughout Texas and the southeast. The Weevil, however, never made it west of the Rocky Mountains, probably due to the desert conditions prevalent throughout New Mexico and Arizona, not to mention the colder mountain climates.

Despite the malicious tendencies of the weevil, the change that followed in the wake of its destruction was a welcome breath of fresh air in a few places. The most notable of these locations is Alabama, where, in a town called Enterprise, the Boll Weevil Monument stands as a tribute to ensuing economic redevelopment of that area.

However, despite the celebration, the Boll Weevil is still an unwelcome guest at farms across the United States, and causes millions of dollars in damage to cotton (and some other) crops throughout the land. In the last few years, however, scientists and entomologists have been working to remove the annual threat that the boll weevil poses to cotton crops throughout the US. Companies have recently introduced cotton that has been genetically altered to produce a natural chemical that deters the pest, called BT cotton for the bacillus thuringiensis it produces, and other types of pesticide pre-treated cotton. Additionally, the USDA and EPA-sponsored Boll Weevil Erradication Program is in full-swing, and has reduced the presence of this pest almost completely in several states east of the Mississippi River.

Need to add remarks about Development and Exponential Infestation.