Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 31 - 40 of 52 results
Seven-spotted lady beetle on a flower
Lady Beetles (Ladybird Beetles; Ladybugs)
Nearly 500 species in North America north of Mexico
Lady beetles are beloved for many reasons. Farmers like the way they devour injurious aphids and scale insects. Everyone else appreciates their bright colors and shiny, compact bodies.
image of a Spittlebug and nest on plant stem
Spittlebugs and Froghoppers
About 60 species in North America north of Mexico
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.
Photo of an eastern yellowjacket
Yellowjackets (Vespula Wasps)
Vespula spp.
Yellowjackets are bee-sized social wasps that build paper nests, usually underground. Their defensive stinging can make them a major pest when they nest near people.
Image of a red velvet ant
Velvet Ants
Nearly 500 species in North America north of Mexico
Velvet ants are not true ants. True ants are social insects, while velvet ants are a group of solitary wasps. Female velvet ants are wingless throughout their lives; males are winged.
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.
Deer bot fly Cephenemyia phobifer resting on a support beam at the top of a fire tower
Bot Flies
About 40 species in North America north of Mexico
Bot flies are chunky, beelike flies usually with rounded heads. Adults are not commonly seen. The larvae are short, pudgy, segmented grubs that live as parasites in the tissues of animals. Those that live just under the skin often form a bulge. Some types live in the nasal or throat cavities of deer.
Underside of hackberry leaf showing hackberry nipple galls
Hackberry Psyllids (Hackberry Nipple Gall Makers)
Pachypsylla spp.
Hackberry psyllids are a genus of tiny, planthopper-like bugs. As larvae, they develop within the leaves, twigs, buds, or bark of hackberry trees. The trees form warty galls in response to their presence. In the fall, tiny adult hackberry psyllids cling to window screens.
White-crossed seed bug on a blooming butterweed plant
White-Crossed Seed Bug
Neacoryphus bicrucis
The white-crossed seed bug, or ragwort seed bug, has a prominent thin-lined pale X dividing zones of red and black. Look for it in places where ragworts are plentiful.
Female Georgia mason bee, covered with yellow pollen, on a yellow flowerhead
Georgia Mason
Osmia georgica
The Georgia mason is one of several species of mason bees in Missouri. Like other megachilid bees, it is a native solitary bee that carries pollen in a special clump of hairs on the underside of the abdomen.
Female mason bee collecting pollen on a yellow daisy-family flowerhead
Megachilid Bees
More than 630 species in North America north of Mexico
Megachilid bees are a family of solitary, native bees that carry pollen only on the underside of the abdomen, never on the hind legs. Large cutting mouthparts allow them to collect pieces of leaves, soil, or plant resins to line their nests.
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.