Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 1 - 10 of 188 results
Tarnished plant bug resting on a leaf
Plant Bugs (Mirids)
About 2,000 species in North America north of Mexico
Plant bugs, or mirids, are a huge family of true bugs. They are often overlooked — except by gardeners and farmers. Most mirids eat plants, and some are agricultural pests. As a group, they’re an important food source for birds and other insectivores.
Obscure bird grasshopper on a grapefruit tree leaf
Bird Grasshoppers
Schistocerca spp.
About six species of bird grasshoppers occur in Missouri. Most are attractively marked, large insects that gracefully fly from danger, almost like birds.
A darkling beetle, genus Asiopus, walking on a white-painted wall
Darkling Beetles (Tenebrionids)
About 1,200 species in North America north of Mexico
Darkling beetles are a very large family of beetles. Most are dull black or brown, crawl on the ground, and are scavengers. Many of them resemble what you might call a “base-model” beetle.
A reddish centipede crawls over a rock
Centipedes
Hundreds of species in North America north of Mexico
Centipedes are familiar to anyone who has overturned rocks and logs, sifted through leaf litter, or dug in the soil. Learn more about Missouri's members of class Chilopoda.
Photo of a land snail crawling on a rock.
Land Snails and Slugs
Approx. 150 species of land snails and slugs in Missouri
Most people know land snails and slugs when they see these interesting animals. Missouri has about 150 species in 25 families.
Black-legged meadow katydid female
Black-Legged Meadow Katydid
Orchelimum nigripes
The black-legged meadow katydid is a gorgeous, strikingly marked katydid that hides among foliage. They are secretive and quick to hop away or move to the other side of a plant stem.
Image of a differential grasshopper.
Differential Grasshopper
Melanoplus differentialis
The differential grasshopper is familiar to most Missourians. Originally it lived only in wet meadows and creek bottomlands, but with the spread of farms, it has become a pest of many food crops.
Image of a red-legged grasshopper.
Red-Legged Grasshopper
Melanoplus femurrubrum
The red-legged grasshopper is a type of short-horned grasshopper common in Missouri. It reaches about 1 inch in length and is often seen flicking or flying away in open habitats.
A metallic green sweat bee gathering pollen on a yellow flowerhead
Halictid Bees (Sweat Bees)
More than 500 species in North America north of Mexico
Missouri has many species of halictid bees, or sweat bees. Some are solitary, but a number show different levels of social behavior. They're named for their attraction to perspiration, which offers them precious moisture and salts.
Honeybee worker on flower
Honeybee
Apis mellifera
The honeybee is the major pollinator of many field crops and almost all tree fruits. It is the world's most beneficial insect. In 1985 it was named the official state insect of Missouri.
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.