Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 1 - 9 of 9 results
Glossy black spider wasp manipulating paralyzed spider
Spider Wasps
About 300 species in North America north of Mexico
People notice spider wasps when they notice a female lugging a captured spider to its doom. In most cases, she will drag the spider into a burrow, lay an egg on the spider, and then hunt for more spiders!
image of Black-and-Yellow Mud Dauber
Mud Daubers
Three genera: Sceliphron, Trypoxylon, and Chalybion
Mud daubers are among the most familiar solitary wasps. They belong to a number of related groups, but we call them all "mud daubers" because they all build their nests out of mud. One way to tell the different mud daubers apart is by the distinctive architecture they use.
Photo of a great black wasp on a bindweed flower
Great Black Wasp
Sphex pensylvanicus
A strikingly large black wasp with smoky black wings that shine with blue iridescence, the great black wasp is often seen busily eating nectar and pollen from flowers in summertime.
Blue-black spider wasp resting on senna foliage
Blue-Black Spider Wasps
Anoplius spp.
There are nearly 50 North American species of blue-black spider wasps. Many in this genus are entirely black, with a bluish sheen, while many others have an orange marking on the abdomen.
Blue-winged wasp viewed from above, showing wrinkled surface of wings
Scoliid Wasps
About 20 species in North America north of Mexico
Scoliid wasps are a family of beetle hunters. Large, rather hairy wasps, some are handsomely colored. The female digs in soil, finds a scarab beetle grub, and lays an egg on it.
Long-legged wasp grasping a wolf spider while clinging to house siding
Entypus Spider Wasps
Entypus aratus, E. unifasciatus, E. fulvicornis, and others
Spider wasps in genus Entypus are bluish black and usually have some amount of amber color on their dark, smoky wings. Some species have bright yellow antennae.
Blue-winged scoliid wasp taking nectar on English ivy flowers
Blue-Winged Wasp
Scolia dubia
The blue-winged wasp is a common Missouri species of scoliid wasp. The abdomen has a distinctive fuzzy, rich rusty patch with two ovals of yellow. Its larvae eat Japanese beetle grubs and other scarab beetle larvae.
Blue orchard bee resting on a dirt surface
Blue Orchard Bee
Osmia lignaria
The blue orchard bee is one of our native mason bees, or megachilids. It is a very important native pollinator of spring-blooming orchard trees, such as apple, pear, and cherry.
Female Georgia mason bee, covered with yellow pollen, on a yellow flowerhead
Georgia Mason
Osmia georgica
The Georgia mason is one of several species of mason bees in Missouri. Like other megachilid bees, it is a native solitary bee that carries pollen in a special clump of hairs on the underside of the abdomen.
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.