Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 1 - 10 of 138 results
image of Xystodesmid Millipede crawling on a forest floor
Xystodesmid Millipedes
8 tribes, with about 23 genera, in North America north of Mexico
Millipedes in family Xystodesmidae often have bright colors that serve as a warning to potential predators that they may secrete foul or toxic substances.
Three-banded grasshopper resting on a grass stalk with a blue background
Three-Banded Grasshopper
Hadrotettix trifasciatus
The three-banded grasshopper is one of our most attractively marked grasshoppers, with three sharply marked dark bands.
Photo of a green-eyed robber fly depositing eggs into Missouri ironweed flowers.
Green-Eyed Robber Fly
Promachus vertebratus
The green robber fly is one of several species of robber flies called giant robber flies or bee killers. They are indeed large, with distinctive yellow and dark stripes on the abdomen and iridescent green eyes.
image of American Carrion Beetle
American Carrion Beetle
Necrophila americana
The American carrion beetle has a yellow pronotum with a big black spot in the middle. Adults of this species of silphid beetle eat fly maggots, plus some carrion. In flight, they seem like bumblebees.
Delta flower scarab clinging to flower
Delta Flower Scarab
Trigonopeltastes delta
The delta flower scarab got its name from the bright yellow triangle on its pronotum. It commonly visits a variety of flowers in prairies, old fields, and other open areas.
Elongate-bodied springtail on a brown leaf
Springtails
More than 8,000 species globally
Springtails, like insects, have six legs, but these tiny rounded, oval, or elongated creatures that hop quickly into the air are not insects. They have a separate lineage and many structural differences.
image of a Four-Spotted Owlfly
Owlflies
8 species in North America north of Mexico
An owlfly looks like a dragonfly with a butterfly’s head. Dragonfly shaped and sized, they have long, clubbed antennae and large, bulging eyes. Look for them in summertime dusks and evenings.
Photo of adult antlion with wings spread
Antlion Adults
More than 100 species in North America north of Mexico
Adult antlions look something like drab damselflies. These insects are most familiar in their immature stages, called doodlebugs, which create pits in sand for trapping ants.
Japanese beetle on a leaf
Japanese Beetle
Popillia japonica
Despite its decorative bronze wing shields, metallic green thorax, and black-and-white striped abdomen, the Japanese beetle is a serious agricultural pest.
Seven-spotted lady beetle on a flower
Lady Beetles (Ladybird Beetles; Ladybugs)
Nearly 500 species in North America north of Mexico
Lady beetles are beloved for many reasons. Farmers like the way they devour injurious aphids and scale insects. Everyone else appreciates their bright colors and shiny, compact bodies.
See Also
Photo of a Yellow-Collared Scape Moth
Yellow-Collared Scape Moth
Cisseps fulvicollis
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!
image of Plume Moth on blade of grass
Plume Moths
Nearly 150 species in North America north of Mexico
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.
Photo of an Isabella Tiger Moth
Isabella Tiger Moth (Woolly Bear; Woolly Worm)
Pyrrharctia isabella
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.