Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor percentages of waxes, fats, pectins, and water. Under natural conditions, the cotton bolls will increase the dispersal of the seeds.
Gossypium is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Gossypieae of the mallow family, Malvaceae, from which cotton is harvested. It is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Old and New Worlds. There are about 50 Gossypium species, making it the largest genus in the tribe Gossypieae, and new species continue to be discovered. The name of the genus is derived from the Arabic word goz, which refers to a soft substance.
A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation. The fibers are then processed into various cotton goods such as calico, while any undamaged cotton is used largely for textiles like clothing. The separated seeds may be used to grow more cotton or to produce cottonseed oil.
Helicoverpa zea, commonly known as the corn earworm, is a species in the family Noctuidae. The larva of the moth Helicoverpa zea is a major agricultural pest. Since it is polyphagous during the larval stage, the species has been given many different common names, including the cotton bollworm and the tomato fruitworm. It also consumes a wide variety of other crops.
Cotton bollworms are a significant pest of cotton. "A major pest in hot countries of irrigated crops. Enters into a summer diapause when irrigated crops are not present and the soil and air temperatures are high. When the end of the dry season comes, the rain cools the soil and pupae come out of diapause."
The Gelechiidae are a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and the family's taxonomy has been subject to considerable dispute. These are generally very small moths with narrow, fringed wings. The larvae of most species feed internally on various parts of their host plants, sometimes causing galls. Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga) is a host plant common to many species of the family, particularly of the genus Chionodes, which as a result is more diverse in North America than usual for Gelechioidea.
Bollworm is the common term for a moth larva that attacks the fruiting bodies of certain crops, especially cotton. The most common moths known as bollworms are:
The pink bollworm is an insect known for being a pest in cotton farming. The adult is a small, thin, gray moth with fringed wings. The larva is a dull white caterpillar with eight pairs of legs with conspicuous pink banding along its dorsum. The larva reaches one half inch in length.
Bt cotton is a genetically modified pest resistant plant cotton variety that produces an insecticide to combat bollworm.
Helicoverpa armigera is a species of Lepidoptera in the family Noctuidae. It is known as the cotton bollworm, corn earworm, Old World (African) bollworm, or scarce bordered straw. The larvae feed on a wide range of plants, including many important cultivated crops. It is a major pest in cotton and one of the most polyphagous and cosmopolitan pest species. It should not be confused with the similarly named larva of the related species Helicoverpa zea.
Helicoverpa punctigera, the native budworm, Australian bollworm or Chloridea marmada, is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae. This species is native to Australia. H. punctigera are capable of long-distance migration from their inland Australian habitat towards coastal regions and are an occasional migrant to New Zealand.
Pectinophora scutigera, the Queensland pink bollworm or pinkspotted bollworm, is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It was described by Holdaway in 1926 from Australia, where it occurs in coastal and central Queensland. It has also been recorded from Hawaii, New Guinea, Micronesia and New Caledonia.
Earias insulana, the Egyptian stemborer, Egyptian bollworm, spiny bollworm or cotton spotted bollworm, is a moth of the family Nolidae. The species was first described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1833. It is found in most of Africa, southern Europe, the Near East and Middle East, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Australia and Hawaii. It is a rare in immigrant in Great Britain.
Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) is one of six operational program units within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The PPQ works to safeguard agriculture and natural resources in the U.S. against the entry, establishment, and spread of animal and plant pests, and noxious weeds in order to help ensure the protection of native flora and an abundant, high-quality, and varied food supply.
Decatopseustis cataphanes is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It was described by Ian Francis Bell Common in 1958. It is found in Australia, where it has been recorded from the Australian Capital Territory.
Dysdercus cingulatus is a species of true bug in the family Pyrrhocoridae, commonly known as the red cotton stainer. It is a serious pest of cotton crops, the adults and older nymphs feeding on the emerging bolls and the cotton seeds as they mature, transmitting cotton-staining fungi as they do so.
Hartford Hammond Keifer was a world authority on eriophyid mites. Based in California, he initially studied the local microlepidoptera before turning to mites in 1937.
Diparopsis castanea is the type species of the genus Diparopsis: moths in the family Noctuidae; no subspecies are listed in the Catalogue of Life. This is known as the red bollworm, which is a significant pest of cotton crops in Eastern and Central-Southern Africa.
Acanthaspis quinquespinosa is a species of assassin bug found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal and Tibet. It is a predator, and both nymphs and adults feed on termites, beetles, caterpillars and other insect prey.
