Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 41 - 50 of 72 results
Click beetle resting on a brick wall
Click Beetles
Approximately 1,000 species in North America
Their streamlined shape is distinctive, but the behavior of click beetles is even more unique: Placed on their backs, these beetles flip suddenly into the air with an audible click.
Squash bug on sand
Squash Bugs
Anasa tristis and other Anasa spp.
Sooner or later, most Missouri gardeners learn about squash bugs, which feed on the foliage of squash, pumpkins, melons, cucumbers, and other plants in the squash family.
image of Soldier Beetle on Goldenrod
Soldier Beetles (Cantharids)
Nearly 500 species in North America north of Mexico
Soldier beetles are most often seen on flowers. Many species in this family are pollinators. Yellow, orange, and red are their most common colors, besides black and brown.
image of Caddisfly on leaf
Caddisflies
About 1,500 species in North America north of Mexico
Adult caddisflies are mothlike. Their larvae are aquatic and build portable, protective cases out of local materials, including grains of sand, bits of leaves and twigs, and other debris.
Underside of hackberry leaf showing hackberry nipple galls
Hackberry Psyllids (Hackberry Nipple Gall Makers)
Pachypsylla spp.
Hackberry psyllids are a genus of tiny, planthopper-like bugs. As larvae, they develop within the leaves, twigs, buds, or bark of hackberry trees. The trees form warty galls in response to their presence. In the fall, tiny adult hackberry psyllids cling to window screens.
Photo of a white micrathena spider in her web
White Micrathena
Micrathena mitrata
The white micrathena has 2 short pairs of tubercles and a white abdomen with a few distinct black blotches on the upper side. In an odd way, it looks like it's wearing a turban. This is one of three Missouri species of micrathenas, also called spiny orbweavers.
Side view of longlegged fly, Condylostylus, perched on a wooden railing
Longlegged Flies
About 1,300 species in North America north of Mexico
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.
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.
Photo of an adult two-lined spittlebug on a leaf
Two-Lined Spittlebug
Prosapia bicincta
The two-lined spittlebug is a common member of the froghopper family. The two lines may be red, orange, or yellow. Some individuals are all black, except for the red eyes.
Dogwood spittlebug resting on the edge of a leaf
Dogwood Spittlebug
Clastoptera proteus
The adult dogwood spittlebug has distinctive black and yellow markings. It feeds on dogwoods, blueberries, and their relatives.
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.