The boll weevil caused havoc across the South while becoming part of its lore:

Marcus Garner/AJC

The Boll Weevil Cafe in Augusta.

• Photo gallery of the weevil, Georgia farm

— Woody Guthrie recorded "Boll Weevil Song" in 1940.

— "The Boll Weevil" is a song by Leadbelly, alternatively known as, "De Ballet of De Boll Weevil." This song was also covered by Odetta and The White Stripes.

— Elvis Presley made reference to a boll weevil in his song "Little Sister."

"Ev'ry time I see your sister
Well she's got somebody new
She's mean and she's evil
Like that old Boll Weevil
Guess I'll try my luck with you"

— The Boll Weevil Monument, a classical statue of a woman holding a lvery large boll weevil over her head, stands in Enterprise, Ala. The bronze plaque reads, "In profound appreciation of the Boll Weevil and what it has done as the herald of prosperity, this monument is erected by the citizens of Enterprise — December 11, 1919."

— The Boll Weevil Cafe and Sweetery is in Augusta, Ga.

— University of Arkansas at Monticello school mascot: The Boll Weevil

— A daily passenger train on the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in the 1930s and 1940s along the Southeastern coast was known as "The Boll Weevil Express."

— Boll weevil was once a nickname for conservative Southern Democrats in their role as pests who keep pressure on the Democrats.

— The boll weevil helped shape the Mississippi Delta blues — a seminal art form that influenced rock, country and other types of music. Not only do a variety of songs pay homage to the insect, but the boll weevil infestation across the South drove tens of thousands of African-American sharecroppers into the Delta. The influx created both the market and the creative milieu for the development of the blues.

BUG-EYED FACTS

Boll weevils are not native to the United States.

Boll weevils are native to Mexico, where they exist on wild plants related to cotton.

Boll weevils first appeared in Texas cotton around 1892.

Boll weevils were first detected in Mississippi in 1907.

Boll weevils can travel for hundreds of miles in just a few hours when traveling as stowaways on motorized vehicles.

Also called the cotton boll weevil , cotton-eating weevil, or snout beetle.

SCIENTIFICALLY SPEAKING...

Boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis)

Most serious cotton pest in North America, a beetle of the insect family Curculionidae (order Coleoptera).

The size of the adult boll weevil varies according to the amount of food it receives during its larval stage, but it averages about 6 mm (1/4 inch).

In the spring, adult boll weevils emerge from a partly dormant state and deposit between about 100 and 300 eggs in cotton buds or fruit. The larvae live entirely within the cotton boll, destroying not only the seeds but also the surrounding fibers.

Sources: New Georgia Encyclopedia, Library of Congress, Mississippi State University Extension Service, Alabama Tourism Board, Encyclopedia Britannica

— Compiled by Nisa Asokan and Sharon Gaus, AJC News Research