Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs (Princeton Field Guides) (Hardcover)

by Whitney Cranshaw (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Here's a sobering statistic: there are more than 100,000 species of insects and related garden pests in North America, and to gardeners it must often seem that the vast majority of them are eating, crawling, and flitting their way through treasured plants and flowers. Knowing what's doing the damage is more than half the battle in winning the pest-control war, and to that end Cranshaw has developed an impressive, encyclopedic guide to identifying everything from acorn weevils to zebra caterpillars. Understanding the way gardeners think, Cranshaw has logically organized the information according to the type of damage inflicted. The chapter on leaf chewers, for example, lists more than three-dozen likely insect culprits. Insect groups are then further characterized by host plant, range, appearance, and habits to precisely pinpoint the offending pest. Methods of controlling insect populations, in-depth discussions of beneficial insects, a comprehensive at-a-glance appendix of common plant-insect associations, and more than 1,400 color photos make this a marvel among insect identification manuals. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Cranshaw has constructed a lucid and well-illustrated text to allow gardeners to identify insects they encounter. -- Choice

No one will argue with [Cranshaw's] desire to demystify insects and their world. -- Adrian Higgins , The Washington Post

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (March 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691095604
• ISBN-13: 978-0691095608
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.9 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,946,156 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book on Insects for Gardeners and Naturalists, April 7, 2004

By	David B Richman (Mesilla Park, NM USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs (Princeton Field Guides) (Paperback)

"Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs" is simply a gem of a book. Illustrated with beautiful color photos, many by the author, this is the ultimate guide to every conceivable insect or other arthropod you might find in your backyard. It also tells you what to expect from each of these creatures (will it eat my rose bushes?)

I first bought a copy for the Arthropod Museum library and then, after using the book for a few days, ordered my own copy. It is well written and authoritative (Whitney Cranshaw is a respected entomologist at Colorado State University) and very well illustrated. Color plates of stinkbugs, scale insects, aphids, beneficial insects etc. give the reader a fantastic overview of the variety of arthropods they can find around their own homes. The price is also very good ($20.00 for a thick book with hundreds of color photos is remarkable today!) and I simply cannot see how anyone interested in gardening or backyard bug watching would not want a copy.

Highly recommended for anyone with a reason to know anything about the numerous six and eight-legged creatures beyond their back door.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book available for identifying garden insects, June 27, 2005

By	Debbie Lee Wesselmann (the Lehigh Valley, PA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs (Princeton Field Guides) (Paperback)

Whether you harbor a fascination for insects or are on a search-and-destroy mission, you will find this enormous identification book a fascinating look at North American insects. Organized by the type of damage the insects inflict (leaf chewers, trunk borers, sap suckers, etc.) this book devotes considerable space to individual insects, discussing such specifics as hosts, damage, distribution, appearance, and habits. Major pests are given more space than the less common. For example, the Colorado Potato Beetle is given nearly a full page while the asparagus miner is described in a short paragraph. The accompanying color photographs are usually helpful, though some could be improved since the visual details aren't always clear.

Especially for organic gardeners, the section on beneficial species is extremely helpful. Since predators are not always identifiable to the novice, the photographs and accompanying text assist in protecting the species that will provide a natural balance in the garden. For example, most people will not recognize the larva form of the lady beetle, the species with a voracious appetite for aphids, adelgids, and other pests, but this guide shows all life stages of it. Other beneficials, including some species of wasps, look as ugly and as destructive as their prey. An appendix cross-references particular plants with their most likely pests, which cuts down the time it takes to identify most species.

Because of both the color photographs, some showing the different life stages of a particular species, and the text, this guide is a wonderful tool for the gardener or budding entomologist.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs" , February 16, 2006

By	Plays in the Dirt (MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs (Princeton Field Guides) (Paperback)

As a University Extension Division Master Gardener, I frequently staff Q&A booths. This is the favorite book, hands down, to assist in identifying insects. Between the great insect photos and the illustrations of leaf damage, we can often help the home gardeners positively identify their problem without an actual captured bug to guide us.
I have had to guard my copy to keep it from going home with my friends!