Q: How do boll weevils damage cotton?

A: They feed a bit on plant tips before the cotton blooms, but then feed on the young bolls after the plant begins blooming. Pretty quickly thereafter they begin laying eggs in the young bolls.

Here’s a more technical description from the Texas Extension Agricultural Service.

Boll weevil (Anthonomous grandis grandis Boheman)

Identification. The adult boll weevil is a brown to grayish-brown beetle. The body is covered with short, fine hair, giving it a fuzzy appearance. There is considerable variation in size from slightly more than 1/8 inch to almost