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

This book is amazing. I have just glanced through it and WOW. The pictures are wonderful and the text is descriptive. I cannot believe I paid under $25 for this book. This IS my bug reference book for my new career as a Master Gardener--only a trainee right now. I am very happy with my purchase.

Excellent reference book on garden insects

"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.

The second edition of this book is over 600 pages of amazing photographs and information. The authors have made an effort to cross reference sections to help the user find information. As a gardener I have had trouble identifying insects and determining if they will do real damage. This book makes that much easier and also points out that many insects may do small amounts of damage but can be beneficial also. Of most help to me are the photos which include all stages of the life cycle. Although not every insect is depicted this way, many are.

This guide has wonderful color pictures of various stages of plant pests, and concise descriptions of their life cycles. Because of the completeness of the coverage of the 1400+ insects ,there is very limited advice re: what to do to get rid of (or manage) these pests. However, this book does an admirable job of covering the main concern which is being able to identify the pests/problems and after identification to take that information and search for remedies. In addition to common names of insects, information also includes the scientific names which may bewilder some and delight others. The books pages are high quality and it is quite heavy, so inclusion of additional information RE: control methods etc. would make it unwieldy and unpleasant to try to use. I recommend use of the book on a table to keep from dropping it: It is difficult to handle when carried in hand/out of the house and that is the only reason I wouldn't give it 5 stars.

The pictures and text make it reasonably easy to ID pests & what they do to plants. The books organization is based on what they do to plants so seeing a bug doing something is your guide to finding out about that bug. Their life history gives useful info. A whole section on beneficial bugs helps one to encourage those so they can get the bad bugs. A super resource!

This is the second copy I have purchased for my office in Augusta, GA at the UGA Cooperative Extension. I am a Master Gardener and we man/woman an "Answer Desk" for clients in a multi-county two state area (GA/SC). This book is an amazing bargain! It is less than $20 and it shows and identifies just about every garden pest that we get questioned about. The exceptional part about this book is it shows alll stages of insect development, egg, larvae, pupae, mature.........in pictures so we can tell our clients what to look for and how to prevent future problems. It also has recommendations for control. Folks sometimes don't believe us when they bring in samples that they found covering their golden raintree and we tell them that they are "golden raintree" bugs, sure helps to have the printed word to back us up. I recommend this book for every Extension office, Master Gardener and anyone that is interested in what the true ecosystem of their yard or garden is.

Beautiful huge books with about 6-8 close-up pictures per page. This book is 2 inches thick with 704 pages. Price is great for information and photos contained. Super buy for the price. This book would make a great gardener's gift.

This book is filled with great pictures for identification of the damage caused by certain insects, some of which are beneficial and should not be killed. Pictures of both damage and insects are very helpful. Great value for the price and recommend for gardener or even if you are just curious of damages done to your trees, flowers, etc.

Useful for common garden bugs!

this is a handy tool to study and know the insects of our area. It is in great condition and I am loving it. Thank you!

8 year old grandson is very taken with this book. He refers to it and explores within it again and again.

A must have for every gardener and insect lover, it is a great reference book and would recommend it others.