<P> Adult weevils overwinter in well - drained areas in or near cotton fields after diapause . They emerge and enter cotton fields from early spring through midsummer, with peak emergence in late spring, and feed on immature cotton bolls . The female can lay up to 200 eggs over a 10 - to 12 - day period . The oviposition leaves wounds on the exterior of the flower bud . The eggs hatch in 3 to 5 days within the cotton squares (larger buds before flowering), feed for 8 to 10 days, and finally pupate . The pupal stage lasts another 5 to 7 days . The lifecycle from egg to adult spans about three weeks during the summer . Under optimal conditions, 8 to 10 generations per season may occur . </P> <P> Boll weevils begin to die at temperatures at or below − 5 ° C (23 ° F). Research at the University of Missouri indicates they cannot survive more than an hour at − 15 ° C (5 ° F). The insulation offered by leaf litter, crop residues, and snow may enable the beetle to survive when air temperatures drop to these levels . The boll weevil lays its eggs inside buds and ripening bolls (fruits) of the cotton plants . The adult insect has a long snout, is grayish color, and is usually less than 6 mm long . </P> <P> Other limitations on boll weevil populations include extreme heat and drought . Its natural predators include fire ants, insects, spiders, birds, and a parasitic wasp, Catolaccus grandis . The insects sometimes emerge from diapause before cotton buds are available . </P> <P> The insect crossed the Rio Grande near Brownsville, Texas, to enter the United States from Mexico in 1892 and reached southeastern Alabama in 1909 . By the mid-1920s, it had entered all cotton - growing regions in the U.S., travelling 40 to 160 miles per year . It remains the most destructive cotton pest in North America . Since the boll weevil entered the United States, it has cost U.S. cotton producers about $13 billion, and in recent times about $300 million per year . </P>

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