Praising the pest: The Boll Weevil Monument

At a busy crossroads of Enterprise in Alabama State in the US stands the world’s first monument in honour of a pest. The Boll Weevil Monument recognizes the contribution of the boll weevil beetles in the State’s agriculture.

Alabama once served as a leading producer of cotton in the US. In the early 20th century, it was observed that the boll weevils were marring the cultivation of cotton drastically. Vast fields of cotton lost to the beetles. The farmers then decided to switch to peanut farming, which helped them recover the financial loss that the damage had caused.

The monument was erected on 11 December 1919 as a gratitude to the boll weevils, signifying how something disastrous could lead to a good change, and how in hard times people could come together bringing in that change.