Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 101 - 109 of 109 results
Media
Elm borer beetle resting on rocks in a flower planter
Species Types
Scientific Name
Saperda tridentata
Description
The elm borer is a longhorned beetle whose larvae bore galleries under the bark of elm trees. The orangish markings on the adults are distinctive.
Media
Locust borer on leaf
Species Types
Scientific Name
Megacyllene robiniae
Description
The locust borer is a longhorned beetle whose larvae tunnel into the trunks of black locust. The colorful black and yellow adults are often seen in late summer as they feed on the pollen of goldenrod and other flowers.
Media
Tarnished plant bug resting on a leaf
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 2,000 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
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.
Media
A darkling beetle, genus Asiopus, walking on a white-painted wall
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 1,200 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Darkling beetles are a very large family of beetles. Most are dull black or brown, crawl on the ground, and are scavengers. Many of them resemble what you might call a “base-model” beetle.
Media
Rove beetle, Platydracus sp., viewed from above
Species Types
Scientific Name
More than 4,400 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Rove beetles usually have very short wing covers, so several of their hind abdominal segments are exposed. Typically fast movers, they often flip up their abdomen tips when frightened. This is a huge family of beetles.
Media
European hornet resting on a window screen
Species Types
Scientific Name
Vespa crabro
Description
The European hornet is a large, nonnative hornet that was introduced to New York in the mid-1800s. They now occur across most of the eastern United States, including Missouri. People may misidentify them as the highly publicized, so-called murder hornets.
Media
Female hooded grouse locust perched on a rock
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 30 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Members of the pygmy grasshopper family are small and have a distinctively elongated pronotum — this plate, which only covers the shoulders of most other grasshoppers, extends back to cover the abdomen in this family. Most live along streams and in other wet habitats.
Media
Ebony bug resting in the palm of a person’s hand
Species Types
Scientific Name
More than 40 species in 3 genera in North America north of Mexico
Description
Ebony bugs are definitely true bugs, but they look a lot like tiny, shiny black beetles. Their bodies are fat ovals. They’re almost always seen on flower clusters and immature seeds, often on members of the carrot or parsley family.
Media
Orange assassin bug walking on tree bark at Mint Spring
Species Types
Scientific Name
Pselliopus barberi
Description
The orange assassin bug, Pselliopus barberi, is about ½ inch long and is one of our most attractive non-butterfly insects. They overwinter in groups as adults under loose bark.
See Also
Media
Photo of a Yellow-Collared Scape Moth
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cisseps fulvicollis
Description
The yellow-collared scape moth is more often “orange-collared.” And whether you think it looks more like a firefly or a wasp, it’s still a moth!
Media
image of Plume Moth on blade of grass
Species Types
Scientific Name
Nearly 150 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Slim, delicate plume moths are instantly recognizable by their T-shaped silhouette, long legs, and muted shades of tan and brown. It can be hard to separate the various species.
Media
Photo of an Isabella Tiger Moth
Species Types
Scientific Name
Pyrrharctia isabella
Description
Not many people know the adult Isabella tiger moth when they see one, but we’re all acquainted with its caterpillar, the woolly worm, or woolly bear.

About Land Invertebrates in Missouri

Invertebrates are animals without backbones, including earthworms, slugs, snails, and arthropods. Arthropods—invertebrates with “jointed legs” — are a group of invertebrates that includes crayfish, shrimp, millipedes, centipedes, mites, spiders, and insects. There may be as many as 10 million species of insects alive on earth today, and they probably constitute more than 90 percent all animal species.