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Male boll weevils, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, sterilized with nine fractionated doses totaling 48 gray (Gy) of irradiation successfully competed with normal untreated males for virgin females. The ratios of Smale:Nmale:Nfemale tested were 1:1:1, 5:1:1, 10:1:1, 20:1:1, and 40:1:1. We determined that Smales, collectively, at a 20:1 or 40:1 ratio of Smale:Nmale were 90.8–95.1% as competitive as Nmales. A 40:1:1 ratio of Smale:Nmale:Nfemale resulted in no matings between Nmales and Nfemales alone. There were an average of 1.8 matings when both Nmale and Smales mated with the Nfemale resulting in 99.9% sterility (based on F1 adult emergence from eggs collected).

Boll weevils, Anthonomus grandis Boheman were fed an artificial diet containing 100 ppm of diflubenzuron and either 2.5 or 10% sucrose for five days prior to an irradiation dose of 10 krads on day six. After the feeding plus irradiation treatment, the weevils were given cotton squares or artificial diet posttreatment. Treated weevils contained significantly higher levels of water than the control samples for five days posttreatment. In comparisons between the four treatments, feeding squares for the first two days posttreatment resulted in significantly higher water content in half the treatments. Similarly, when comparisons were made between the four controls it was also found that feeding squares resulted in more water in two groups tested. Sugar concentration did not influence water content in boll weevils.