Field Guide

The Carolina grasshopper is frequently seen in dusty, open habitats like dirt roads and vacant lots. Its yellow-bordered, black hindwings make it look like a mourning cloak butterfly.

The lichen grasshopper sticks to sunny, rocky areas, such as the many rocky glades and hilltops in the Ozarks, where lichens are plentiful. It is perfectly camouflaged there.

Andrenid bees, also called mining bees, are solitary ground-nesters. Most are specialist pollinators whose life cycle is timed to correspond precisely to the blooming of specific flowers.

Longhorn bees are named for their long antennae, which make these fuzzy, medium-sized bees look rather cute. Many have yellow faces.

The eastern Hercules beetle is a breathtaking animal. Like its Greek-hero namesake, it is big and strong. Males have horns; females do not. Hercules beetles are harmless to people.

Moth flies look like tiny, hairy moths. People usually notice them perching next to sinks in the bathroom or kitchen. When disturbed, they usually don't fly very far before landing again, for they are weak fliers.

The citrus flatid planthopper has a waxy coating and can look gray or tan. It eats a wide variety of plants.

The marbled orbweaver is sometimes called the “pumpkin spider” because its rounded abdomen is sometimes bright orange. The color and markings can vary greatly.

The male blue corporal has a rather dark blue body, a black head, and dark marks at the wing bases. Females and young males are brownish and have two short "corporal" stripes on the side of the thorax, behind the eye.

The northern crab spider has many spiny hairs covering the top surfaces of the carapace, abdomen, and legs, and it has usually has greenish-yellow or yellow-brown markings.