John L. Capinera
Academic, New York
2001, pp. 729, Hardcover
Price: $150.00, ISBN: 0-12-158861-0

The Handbook of Vegetable Pests is an adult ‘discovery corner’ for people interested in raising vegetables. This book is far more than meets the eye. The size is reminiscent of a large medical textbook, and not a charming "handbook" as the title claims. This reference book is a handy book, however. Part of its handiness is that there are so many different ways to look up information. For starters, there are 85 pages of references (in small print). Then, if you prefer more visual than scholarly treatments, there are 270 colored plates to wander amongst. At first the colored plates seem ordinary, but more careful scrutiny reveals that for many entomologists, county extension agents, consultants, and serious vegetable gardeners these plates are extraordinary. The side-by-side comparisons of look-alike lepidopteran adults and their equally look-alike larvae are a real "show-stopper."These are the comparisons of Noctuidae and Pyralidae that most of us have always hoped for, but never expected to find. A welcome discovery in the colored plate section is the strong treatment of snails and slugs. The colored plate section also includes excellent photos of typical damage and the insects that cause the damage, photos of these insects in both their damaging and non-damaging forms. Names, common and scientific, order, family, and the page reference to textual information are included on the facing page of each color plate (photo) in an easy-to-find format. Coordinated with the colored plate section in another part of the reference "kit" is a set of taxonomic keys. First, one finds a general key to groups of vegetable insects, then a key to stink bugs alone, a key to army- and cutworms, a key to loopers, and, delightfully, a key to adult flea beetles. Other individual keys are for wireworms, vegetable thrips, mites, and adult slugs, and one for adult snails. Most of these keys are, thankfully, illustrated with appropriate line drawings.

In the textual reference section, which makes up two-thirds of the 729 pages, again there are pleasant surprises. For each pest, the textual information is an in-depth, very well referenced, well-written treatment of damage, management, and natural history (including distribution, host plants, response to various weather patterns, natural enemies, life cycle). The management portion of the textual information provides a welcomed, equal emphasis on cultural and natural enemy management as well as on insecticide management with clear messages about multiple, between-class, resistance to insecticides. Sampling information for each species is a useful addition in this section also. To verify this reviewer’s statement about the thoroughness of the textual section on each pest, select your favorite vegetable pest and follow the references cited. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Of course, there are the rare typos and omissions. One interesting omission is in the glossary. The use of "band" to describe a transverse exoskeleton or wing marking is well delineated, but the use of "band" to describe a group of migrating immature grasshoppers is not mentioned in the glossary, although "band" is well described in the text section on Mormon and Coulee crickets. The technique of "rouging" (with respect to whiteflies and virus-infected plants) is also a "glossary candidate" that did not make the final glossary version. If you choose to invest in this rich companion to your vegetable work, your advising, extension, consulting, or classroom teaching, I highly recommend that you also install index tabs on your book so that you can quickly move between the sections, not just the colored plates, references, and textual information, but also the glossary, the identification keys, the anatomical drawings, even a list by state of all the contact information for departments of entomology in the United States, or other units that provide diagnostic information. Depending on your interests, you may also want to tab the journal abbreviation section or vegetable plant names section that lists common, scientific name, and plant family in all combinations

The Handbook of Vegetable Pests is an extraordinary reference book, appropriate for use in research planning and invaluable in teaching, outreach, as well as in gardening. Investing in this reference volume is a well-spent $150. For the price of the book you actually are getting a series of books under one cover, literally an adult discovery corner for vegetable pest management.

Florence Dunkel
Department of Entomology, Montana State University
324 Leon Johnson Hall
Bozeman, MT 59717-3020
American Entomologist
Vol. 48, No.1, Spring 2002