Reference books and World Wide Web sites range considerably in value. However, listed below are a few that are worthwhile. Some out-of-print books are certainly a good investment if you can purchase them at a reasonable price.

Books in print

• Diseases and Pests of Vegetable Crops in Canada. R.J. Howard, J.A. Garland, and W.L. Seaman. 1994. (good for northern problems, lot of color)

• A Field Guide to Common Texas Insects. B.M. Drees and J.A. Jackman. 1998. (some color, considerable overlap with Florida)

• Florida Critters. B. Zak. 1986. (good for common local insects, color)

• Garden Insects of North America. W. Cranshaw. 2004. (extensive coverage of insects found on crop and ornamental plants, in color)

• Handbook of Vegetable Pests. J.L. Capinera. 2001. (the most complete for vegetable pests, some color)

• Insect Pests of Farm, Garden and Orchard. R.H. Davidson and W.F. Lyon. 1987, eighth edition. (Other editions with Peairs and Lyons are also good, similar to Destructive and Useful Insects (see below) but less complete)

• Insects. A Golden Guide. H.S. Zim and C. Cottam. 1987 and earlier printings. (nearly as good as Insect Pests (see below), and more readily available)

• Integrated Pest Management for Tomatoes. 1982. University of California. (in color)

• Integrated Pest Management for Potatoes in the Western United States. 1986. University of California. (in color)

• Integrated Pest Management for Cole Crops and Lettuce. 1987. University of California. (in color)

• Rodale's Color Handbook of Garden Insects. Anna Carr. 1979. (common pests in color, mostly diagnostic)

• Vegetable Insect Management. R. Foster and B. Flood. 1995. (regional, some color, practical)

• Destructive and Useful Insects: Their Habits and Control. R.L. Metcalf and R.A. Metcalf. 1993, 5th edition. (Earlier editions by Metcalf, Flint and Metcalf are nearly equivalent in value, high information content)

• The Gardener's Bug Book. Cynthia Westcott. 1964, third edition. (Earlier editions are also good, helpful for identifying obscure insects because of the host-based key)

• Insect Pests. A Golden Guide. G. Fichter. 1966. (This children's book has surprisingly good drawings of common pests, in color, for kids of all ages.)

• EDIS - University of Florida Electronic Extension Publications. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/

• Featured Creatures - University of Florida, Department of Entomology and Nematology. http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/

• Insect Notes - North Carolina State University Department of Entomology. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/

• University of Georgia Integrated Pest Management. http://www.gaipm.org/pubs.html