Insects and Gardens: In Pursuit of a Garden Ecology

With a sound basis in science and a practical grounding in gardening experience, Grissell seeks to introduce the reader to insect biology and the role of insects in garden ecology. He describes the various orders of insects the gardener is likely to encounter, and writes knowledgeably about how insects grow, feed, and reproduce. Unlike other books on insects for gardeners, this is not a handbook on how to recognize and eliminate "pests." Instead, Insects and Gardens casts a more appreciative eye on the doings of the class Insecta and seeks to find a middle ground in which both humankind and insectkind can share the garden to mutual benefit. No absolute purist, however, Grisell guiltily confesses to having broken down and used pesticides in desperation more than once. Gardeners will find here a companionable friend with high ideals rather than an unyielding taskmaster.
More than one hundred of Carll Goodpasture's remarkable color photographs reveal the captivating beauty and vital energy that insects bring to the garden, and illuminate the intricacies of interdependence that characterize a garden's ecology. Even the most "bug-hating" gardener cannot fail to be moved by a gulf-fritillary sipping nectar on a passion flower or a colorful scorpionfly camouflaged on a leaf.