According to Wikipedia - The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) is a beetle measuring an average length of six millimeters, which feeds on cotton buds and flowers.
Yep, its a bug. It made its way to Alabama in 1915, devastating the cotton of the South. Wikipedia further states that it remains the most destructive cotton pest in North America, estimating $13 billion in losses to the US since its arrival.
This little bug is also the reason why the South loves peanuts. When the boll weevil devastated the farmers and their cotton fields they turned to a new crop - peanuts.
Enterprise, AL has a monument dedicated to the boll weevil - a tribute for introducing them to a new crop and new way of life. Inscribed at the base of the monument is the following:
"In profound appreciation of the Boll Weevil and what it has done as the herald of prosperity this monument was erected by the citizens of Enterprise, Coffee County, Alabama."
So it was fitting that at the National Peanut Festival last week, the Hardee's Star ran into the Boll Weevil mascot and its Queen from Enterprise State Community College.
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