Garden Insects of North America - 2nd Edition by Whitney Cranshaw & David Shetlar (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

An updated edition of the most complete resource on backyard insects available

This second edition of Garden Insects of North America solidifies its place as the most comprehensive guide to the common insects, mites, and other "bugs" found in the backyards and gardens of the United States and Canada. Featuring 3,300 full-color photos and concise, detailed text, this fully revised book covers the hundreds of species of insects and mites associated with fruits and vegetables, shade trees and shrubs, flowers and ornamental plants, and turfgrass--from aphids and bumble bees to leafhoppers and mealybugs to woollybears and yellowjacket wasps--and much more. This new edition also provides a greatly expanded treatment of common pollinators and flower visitors, the natural enemies of garden pests, and the earthworms, insects, and other arthropods that help with decomposing plant matter in the garden.

Designed to help you easily identify what you find in the garden, the book is organized by where insects are most likely to be seen--on leaves, shoots, flowers, roots, or soil. Photos are included throughout the book, next to detailed descriptions of the insects and their associated plants.

An indispensable guide to the natural microcosm in our backyards, Garden Insects of North America continues to be the definitive resource for amateur gardeners, insect lovers, and professional entomologists.

• Revised and expanded edition covers most of the insects, mites, and other "bugs" one may find in yards or gardens in the United States and Canada--all in one handy volume
• Features more than 3,300 full-color photos, more than twice the illustrations of the first edition
• Concise, informative text organized to help you easily identify insects and the plant injuries that they may cause

From the Back Cover

"Garden Insects of North America is a tremendous contribution and is destined to be a staple on any gardener's bookshelf. Readers will find it overflowing with color pictures and informative yet easy-to-read descriptions. If this isn't the one book you must have, it comes pretty close!"--Casey Sclar, Integrated Pest Management Coordinator, Longwood Gardens

"Whitney Cranshaw's Garden Insects of North America is the most comprehensive book on insect and mite pests of vegetable, fruit, and ornamental plants now in print. Working from experience and the scientific literature, Dr. Cranshaw delivers information on a huge variety of pests in an entirely engaging manner."--James R. Baker, Professor Emeritus, North Carolina State University

"Whitney Cranshaw is probably the only entomologist who could pull off such a large undertaking! His clear, concise writing style, his completeness, and his attention to proper illustration will put this book ahead of any other in the field."--David Shetlar, Ohio State University

"A quick diagnostic tool for identifying pest insects by host plant, Garden Insects of North America will appeal to a wide audience, including home gardeners, master gardeners, entomologists in diagnostic clinics, and students."--Jody Fetzer, University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

Review Quotes

"Garden Insects is destined to become the new bible for horticulturalists and home gardeners alike. I've added it to the few books I keep close at hand while I am in the garden. Luckily, Garden Insects is also an exceptionally well-made paperback with water-resistant cover and 656 pages that fall open without cracking the spine and stay open without having to balance a rock on top."---Patricia Jonas, Plants and Garden News

"[Cranshaw is] an entomologist with perhaps a skewed affection for all kinds of bugs, but no one will argue with his desire to demystify insects and their world so that people understand better whether and how to react to a problem, and to enjoy this Lilliputian drama."---Adrian Higgins, Washington Post

"An exceptionally well organized and complete text on garden insects. . . . Almost every insect is illustrated, with well over 1,000 full-color photographs showing them in various life cycle stages. Its very simple but complete explanations, diagrams and photographs make this the best reference I have read for diagnosing virtually all insect problems. It will make you the neighborhood entomologist."---Joel M. Lerner, Washington Post

"An impressive garden reference that doubles as a field guide. Wherever you live in North America, your insects are included her. . . . The more than 1,400 color pictures of insects and their damage are truly impressive and will be invaluable in helping readers track down the culprits of their plant injury. . . . This wonderful reference will certainly become a classic. . . . Whether you are a professional or a home gardening enthusiast, this is an indispensable reference."---Jeffrey Hahn, American Gardener

"A must for every gardening household."-- "A Way to Garden"

"A must-have reference for any gardener."-- "San Francisco Chronicle"

"Cranshaw has produced a wonderful guide whether the reader is interested in understanding, managing, or just observing theses insects. Identification is the very first step in the process of opening the door of appreciation, and this book is the key."-- "Biology Digest"

"Hip hip hooray for the second edition of Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs by Whitney Cranshaw and David Shetlar. I have spent hours scanning the 3,300 color photographs, looking for creatures I recognize from my own back yard--from monarch butterflies to milkweed longhorns. It's a definitive guide to the miniature world of strange creatures that pollinate and patrol my garden, rewarding close observation."---Carol Stocker, Boston Globe

"Insects are the most diverse and widely distributed life-forms on the planet. Gardens, and the diverse gardeners that tend them, are similarly widely distributed. Succinctly capturing this diversity, Cranshaw has constructed a lucid and well-illustrated text to allow gardeners to identify insects they encounter. . . . Breadth of synthesis, high quality, and effective formatting justify this work as a valuable addition to the popular literature."-- "Choice"

About the Author

Whitney Cranshaw is professor and extension specialist of entomology at Colorado State University. His books include Bugs Rule! and the original 2004 edition of Garden Insects of North America (both Princeton). David Shetlar is professor of urban landscape entomology at The Ohio State University. His books include Managing Turfgrass Pests and Destructive Turf Insects.