Field Guide

The black saddlebags is a dragonfly with memorable markings. Two dark blotches on each hindwing look like saddlebags.

The twelve-spotted skimmer has twelve brown wing spots. Males, like this one, have eight additional spots that are white. Females lack the white spots.

The northern crab spider has many spiny hairs covering the top surfaces of the carapace, abdomen, and legs, and it has usually has greenish-yellow or yellow-brown markings.

The swift crab spider has many spiny hairs covering the top of its body and legs, and it often has a light pinkish-tan cast.

Mature female starbellied orbweavers spin wheel-shaped webs in prairies and other open, sunny habitats. The abdomen is decorated with a crown of spines and usually has a star pattern on the back.

About six species of bird grasshoppers occur in Missouri. Most are attractively marked, large insects that gracefully fly from danger, almost like birds.

Plant bugs, or mirids, are a huge family of true bugs. They are often overlooked — except by gardeners and farmers. Most mirids eat plants, and some are agricultural pests. As a group, they’re an important food source for birds and other insectivores.

Bot flies are chunky, beelike flies usually with rounded heads. Adults are not commonly seen. The larvae are short, pudgy, segmented grubs that live as parasites in the tissues of animals. Those that live just under the skin often form a bulge. Some types live in the nasal or throat cavities of deer.

Whitebanded fishing spiders are often seen on tree trunks, walls, or other vertical surfaces, sometimes far from water. The coloration and markings can vary, but many individuals have an olive-green cast that helps them blend in with mosses and lichens. Note the bristly legs.

The longlegged flies are a large, diverse fly family. They often have eye-catching metallic green, copper, bronze, or blue bodies and long legs. Their delicate wings are often clear and look iridescent in bright light, but many species have dark marks near the wing tips.