Land Invertebrates
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Acanthepeira stellata
Description
Mature female starbellied orbweavers spin wheel-shaped webs in prairies and other open, sunny habitats. The abdomen is decorated with a crown of spines and usually has a star pattern on the back.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
More than 4,400 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Rove beetles usually have very short wing covers, so several of their hind abdominal segments are exposed. Typically fast movers, they often flip up their abdomen tips when frightened. This is a huge family of beetles.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Schistocerca americana
Description
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.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 120 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Fungus weevils are a family of beetles that differ from other weevils by their broad, flat bills and clubbed, but not elbowed, antennae. It's a diverse group, but many do feed on bracket mushrooms and other fungi.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Lycorma delicatula
Description
The spotted lanternfly has not yet been found in Missouri, but it is present in several eastern states. It has the potential to damage our forests and food supply by feeding destructively on trees and crops.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 11 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Mantidflies look like a cross between a lacewing insect and a praying mantis. They are small, delicate creatures with intricately veined wings, but the front half looks like a mantid, complete with raptorial forelegs.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 175 species in North America
Description
Earthworms are familiar to just about everyone who digs in the soil. They play a major role in the nutrient cycling and structure of soils. There are many species. The most familiar ones in Missouri are nonnative.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 30 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Members of the pygmy grasshopper family are small and have a distinctively elongated pronotum — this plate, which only covers the shoulders of most other grasshoppers, extends back to cover the abdomen in this family. Most live along streams and in other wet habitats.
Media
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
Species Types
Scientific Name
Phyllophaga spp.
Description
May beetles, or June bugs, are common beetles that are named for the months they are most numerous. Clumsy walkers and fliers, they are usually brownish and are attracted to lights at night.
See Also
Media
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
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
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.