boll weevils

Boll weevils are beetles that feed on cotton plants, laying eggs inside the cotton bolls and devastating crops.

Native to Mexico, they spread through the American South in the late 19th century and became an agricultural catastrophe.

The boll weevil destroyed three-quarters of the county's cotton harvest.

In American political slang, Boll Weevils were conservative Southern Democrats who often voted with Republicans, particularly in the 1980s.