bollworm

American  

[bohl-wurm] / ˈboʊlˌwɜrm /

noun

1. pink bollworm.

2. corn earworm.

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bollworm British  

/ ˈbəʊlˌwɜːm /

noun

1. any of various moth caterpillars, such as Pectinophora (or Platyedra ) gossypiella ( pink bollworm ), that feed on and destroy cotton bolls

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Etymology

Origin of bollworm

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; boll + worm

Example Sentences

Department of Agriculture is seeking to enlist such techniques to eradicate an invasive diamondback moth in New York, which eats vegetable crops, and a cotton-munching pink bollworm in Arizona.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 15, 2022

Mexican free-tailed bats eat cotton bollworm moths in Texas.

From New York Times • Dec. 11, 2020

Even when you dropped the bollworm larvae into a bucket of poison, farmers said, they kept swimming.

From Reuters • Dec. 8, 2017

The first genetically modified row crops of any kind—herbicide-resistant soybeans and cotton protected against the bollworm and other pests—were introduced only in 1995.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 4, 2016

Although some of the leaf-feeding insects were eliminated, any benefit that might thus have been gained was more than offset by bollworm damage.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson