Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 31 - 40 of 57 results
Media
Grapevine beetle walking on a person's hand
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 1,700 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
The scarab beetle family is very large, with breathtaking variety — and often great beauty. Many scarabs are large and colorful.
Media
Japanese beetle on a leaf
Species Types
Scientific Name
Popillia japonica
Description
Despite its decorative bronze wing shields, metallic green thorax, and black-and-white striped abdomen, the Japanese beetle is a serious agricultural pest.
Media
Red milkweed beetle eating a common milkweed leaf.
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 1,000 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Longhorned beetles are elongated and cylindrical, with antennae that are at least half the length of the body — sometimes much longer. The larvae are grubs that bore in wood or other plants. Some are serious pests.
Media
Cryptorhynchus weevil viewed from side
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 2,500 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Weevils are plant-eating beetles with a characteristic long, down-curving snout. The antennae are clubbed and elbowed. There are thousands of weevil species.
Media
image of a Spittlebug and nest on plant stem
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 60 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
The nymphs of spittlebugs and froghoppers are famous for hiding in small foamy masses of fluid. The “spit” conceals them as they suck juices from plant stems. The adults resemble leafhoppers.
Media
Dung beetle rolling a dung ball
Species Types
Scientific Name
Subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae
Description
Horses, cattle, dogs, and deer all drop manna from above to eager dung beetles, which collect, hoard, and guard the precious organic materials left undigested in the pile.
Media
Photo of a meloe blister beetle, female, on ground
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.
Media
image of Green Lacewing clinging to rock
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 85 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Green lacewings are delicate insects whose larvae are ravenous predators of aphids. This makes the lacewing a friend to gardeners!
Media
Fork-tailed bush katydid resting on a tree trunk
Species Types
Scientific Name
Scudderia furcata
Description
The fork-tailed bush katydid reaches about 1¾ inches long. It is usually leafy green and is most common in bushes, thickets, and other shrubby areas. It is most active after dusk. The call is a simple "tsip!" given every few seconds.
Media
Common meadow katydid female viewed from the side
Species Types
Scientific Name
Orchelimum vulgare
Description
The common meadow katydid is aptly named: it is well-known and widespread in the eastern United States. Listen for its distinctive call — like a pulsating circular lawn sprinkler ratcheting around — in midsummer to the first hard frost.
See Also
Media
Photo of a Yellow-Collared Scape Moth
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
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
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.