Field Guide

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.

The Hine's emerald dragonfly is a federally endangered species. It has a dark emerald-green thorax and two yellow stripes on its sides. It lives in calcareous spring-fed marshes and sedge meadows overlaying dolomite bedrock.

The giant walkingstick is the largest insect in North America, with females up to 7 inches long. The middle and hind legs have spines. Males have a single, large spine on each hind leg.

The northern walkingstick is Missouri's most common species of walkingstick. It is perfectly camouflaged for a life in trees and shrubs. They not only look like twigs but also sway their bodies to mimic the motion of branches in a breeze.

The pale green assassin bug, Zelus luridus, is one of nearly 200 species of assassin bugs in North America. Like other assassin bugs, it is a predator that captures and eats other insects.

The common green darner is abundant and well-known for its bright green, blue, and purple colors. A large dragonfly up to 3 inches long, it is a migratory species that travels south in autumn.

The green crab spider has spines, and the entire body and legs are pale green to silvery white. Like other crab spiders, its legs extend outward from the sides, and it can walk in any direction.

About six species of bird grasshoppers occur in Missouri. Most are attractively marked, large insects that gracefully fly from danger, almost like birds.

The common claybank tiger beetle, or green-margined tiger beetle, occurs on dirt clay soils in open areas in spring and, less abundantly, in late summer. Color varies from red to purple to green. The outer shell edges are often edged with shiny green.

The American bird grasshopper is a large grasshopper with ornate markings. It is a good flier that floats upward into trees. Note the pale stripe running down the back.