Land Invertebrates
Media
![image of Fiery Searcher on dead leaves](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/02/fiery_searcher.jpg?itok=0POiNHsA)
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 2,400 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Ground beetles are a family of mostly nocturnal or light-shunning beetles that tend to be shiny black and have grooved wing covers. This group also includes tiger beetles, however, which includes many colorful daytime fliers.
Media
![Photo of a meloe blister beetle, female, on ground](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/10/meloe_blister_beetle_10-10-13.jpg?itok=M8bsgNtz)
Species Types
Scientific Name
More than 400 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
The name is a warning: blister beetles are famous for their chemical defenses. Beetles in this family can exude an oil that can cause a person’s skin to blister.
See Also
Media
![Photo of a Yellow-Collared Scape Moth](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2012/06/scape_moth.jpg?itok=-C79oNCa)
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](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/06/plumemothdb.jpg?itok=mHLwIYWX)
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](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2012/06/isabella.jpg?itok=DGWZ86EN)
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.