Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 11 - 20 of 22 results
Click beetle resting on a brick wall
Click Beetles
Approximately 1,000 species in North America
Their streamlined shape is distinctive, but the behavior of click beetles is even more unique: Placed on their backs, these beetles flip suddenly into the air with an audible click.
image of Soldier Beetle on Goldenrod
Soldier Beetles (Cantharids)
Nearly 500 species in North America north of Mexico
Soldier beetles are most often seen on flowers. Many species in this family are pollinators. Yellow, orange, and red are their most common colors, besides black and brown.
image of Rhubarb Weevils mating
Rhubarb Weevil
Lixus concavus
The rhubarb weevil has a dusty, bright yellow coating and feeds on rhubarb, dock, thistles, and other plants in the smartweed or buckwheat and sunflower families.
Swamp milkweed leaf beetle on a leaf it has chewed on.
Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle
Labidomera clivicollis
The swamp milkweed leaf beetle is found on the various milkweeds it eats, often in grassy areas or on roadsides. The exact pattern of orange and black varies among individuals.
V-marked lady beetle crawling on a flower
V-Marked Lady Beetle
Neoharmonia venusta
The V-marked lady beetle, one of our many native lady beetles, is very attractive. The pattern and coloration can vary greatly among individuals, but most in this species have a V on the back.
Ninebark calligraphy beetle on cluster of ninebark flower buds
Ninebark Calligraphy Beetle
Calligrapha spiraea
The ninebark calligraphy beetle is one of nearly 40 North American calligraphy beetles, named for the scrawly markings on their backs. Most calligraphy beetles require particular host plants.
Flat-faced longhorn beetle crawling on wood
Four-Humped Flat-Faced Longhorn
Acanthoderes quadrigibba
The four-humped flat-faced longhorn has no true common name, but its markings are distinctive. It plays an important role in breaking down rotten wood and enriching soils.
Ivory-marked beetle crawling on bark
Ivory-Marked Beetle
Eburia quadrigeminata
The ivory-marked beetle is a longhorned beetle whose larvae bore deep into the heartwood of a variety of deciduous trees, including oak, hickory, maple, cherry, ash, elm, and more. It can live for 40 years.
Rove beetle, Platydracus sp., viewed from above
Rove Beetles (Staphylinids)
More than 4,400 species in North America north of Mexico
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.
A fungus weevil, probably Eurymycter tricarinatus, perched on a leaf
Fungus Weevils
About 120 species in North America north of Mexico
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.
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.