Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs

Princeton Field Guides

by Whitney Cranshaw

Garden Insects of North America is the most comprehensive and user-friendly guide to the common insects and mites affecting yard and garden plants in North America. In a manner no previous book has come close to achieving, through full-color photos and concise, clear, scientifically accurate text, it describes the vast majority of species associated with shade trees and shrubs, turfgrass, flowers and ornamental plants, vegetables, and fruits--1,420 of them, including crickets, katydids, fruit flies, mealybugs, moths, maggots, borers, aphids, ants, bees, and many, many more. For particularly abundant bugs adept at damaging garden plants, management tips are also included. Covering all of the continental United States and Canada, this is the definitive one-volume resource for amateur gardeners, insect lovers, and professional entomologists alike.


To ease identification, the book is organized by plant area affected (e.g., foliage, flowers, stems) and within that, by taxa. Close to a third of the species are primarily leaf chewers, with about the same number of sap suckers. Multiple photos of various life stages and typical plant symptoms are included for key species. The text, on the facing page, provides basic information on host plants, characteristic damage caused to plants, distribution, life history, habits, and, where necessary, how to keep "pests" in check--in short, the essentials to better understanding, appreciating, and tolerating these creatures.


Whether managing, studying, or simply observing insects, identification is the first step--and this book is the key. With it in hand, the marvelous microcosm right outside the house finally comes fully into view.

Genres: Gardening, Reference, Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Photography, Animals

496 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the top insect reference book for gardeners in North America, and for good reason. There are a number of insects that I literally could not accurately identify until after I'd gotten a copy of this book.

[m.toast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best garden insect book I've seen. Going to buy it!

[Ms. Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs by Whitney Cranshaw is the ideal resource for identifying insects in the North American back yard. Thoroughly researched and with a wide selection of color photographs, this insect encyclopedia is divided into sections: leaf chewers, sap suckers, and those that feed on the various parts of the plant. If we learn to love that which we study, this book made me fall in love with all sorts of insects that I would normally see as nuisances to my garden: caterpillars, crickets, moths, beetles, flies and spiders. Beautifully and logically arranged, the book reveals the wide variety of tiny creatures that live in our yards as well as the expertise of its author.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you have insects eating your vegetable or flower garden? This book will tell you what the critter is and how to control them. Great reference guide which allows you to specify the plant being eaten and then refers you to the most likely culprits. The individual pages on specific insects have wonderful photos. On the negative side this book addresses insects only as destructive creatures in our garden not as interesting creatures which may have positive attributes to our environment.

[Sarah Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely structured by problem with good clear photos for identification. Overall there's no real fault to the book if you're looking to identify common insects that eat or harm plants in someway this is a good starting point. You might also want to join a Facebook group local to you for specific idents. My one concern is over the premise of the work, we need to view insects differently not as problems as creatures we live with. It would have been nice to see more on changing views and revolutionary approaches to not worrying about insects in the same way as old.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, this book is MASSIVE. It is a great reference, with very accessible articles (and great full color photos) about the garden insects. Highly recommend this for gardeners or anyone who is just interested in learning more about insects.

[Andi Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough and comprehensive guide for any insect (and damage) you might need to identify in the garden. The only drawback for me (but not a problem with the book), was many of the photos for certain insects were the same size, so as a drawing reference, some pages were better than others.

[Natty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive and informative.

[William Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reference book....

[Katrina McCollough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably not for entomologists but super comprehensive for a bug lover

[Angie Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reference book with lots of pictures.

[Pat Muccigrosso · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm an organic gardener and author of Grow So Easy; Organic Gardening for the Rest of Us. I LOVE this book. It kept me from killing a lot of beneficials and unleashed the power of rocks, fingers and grandchildren on bugs that definitely needed to die. Recommend it wholeheartedly - photographs are amazing and make identification a whole lot easier.

[Steve H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive guide to insects/bugs that affect plants. Good photographs and pretty good descriptions. Could use a bit more physical description, such as size. Not a field guide and no key, though. Arranged by the type of damage the bugs do (chewing, sucking, boring, etc.)

[Katelyn Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic resource! This book references a specific niche of organisms. It is most useful if the reader is in need of diagnosing the ailments of their plants. Nice pictorial references in case you are a visual learner too like me.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This seems to be the insects book to own. Great photos, good info, and relatively easy to use. A bit scientific looking for the casual gardener.

[Darcy]

My boys are bug crazy, and the UW extension gal told us this is the book for us!

[Darcy For]

My boys are bug crazy, and the UW extension gal told us this is the book for us!