The differential resistance mechanism in female Hampea sp. trees to the boll weevil

Numerous adult Anthonomus grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), emerged from infested buds collected from the male tree of the dioecious species Hampea sp., but no weevils emerged from about 1000 female buds. Dissection of infested female buds and periodic observations of male and female trees near Martinez de la Torre, Veracruz, Mexico, between September 1966 and August 1967 revealed a unique mechanism of resistance in the female tree that discourages selection by adult female boll weevils and prevents subsequent development of the larvae.