Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 1 - 10 of 184 results
image of an Alderfly
Alderflies
Sialis spp.
Adult alderflies are usually black, dark brown, or gray. They look a lot like stoneflies but are more closely related to fishflies and dobsonflies.
Jagged ambush bug on a plant stem
Ambush Bugs
Phymata spp. and others in subfamily Phymatinae (ambush bugs)
Ambush bugs are a subfamily of assassin bugs. They’re chunky, small insects with powerful grasping forelegs. They hide motionless in flowers waiting for prey to venture near.
image of American Carrion Beetle
American Carrion Beetle
Necrophila americana
The American carrion beetle has a yellow pronotum with a big black spot in the middle. Adults of this species of silphid beetle eat fly maggots, plus some carrion. In flight, they seem like bumblebees.
image of a Thread-Waisted Wasp
Ammophila Wasps
Ammophila spp.
There are more than 60 species of ammophila wasps in North America. They tend to be black, with orange on the abdomen. They are but one genus in the thread-waisted wasp family.
Andrenid or miner bee collecting pollen on a flower
Andrenid Bees (Miner Bees)
More than 1,200 species in North America north of Mexico
Andrenid bees, also called mining bees, are solitary ground-nesters. Most are specialist pollinators whose life cycle is timed to correspond precisely to the blooming of specific flowers.
image of Walker's Cicada clinging to a perch
Annual Cicadas
Neotibicen spp. (in Missouri) (formerly Tibicen)
Annual cicadas look like larger and greener versions of the famous periodical cicadas. Annual cicadas go through a life cycle of only about 2–5 years, and some are present every year — thus they are called annual.
Photo of adult antlion with wings spread
Antlion Adults
More than 100 species in North America north of Mexico
Adult antlions look something like drab damselflies. These insects are most familiar in their immature stages, called doodlebugs, which create pits in sand for trapping ants.
image of Antlion Larva on rock
Antlion Larvae (Doodlebug Larvae)
More than 100 species in North America north of Mexico
Antlions, also called doodlebugs, are most familiar in their immature stages, when they create pits in sand in which to trap ants. The adults look something like drab damselflies.
Acrobat ants on a leaf
Ants
More than 700 species in North America
Ants are everywhere! They outnumber us a million to one. These colonial insects are familiar to everyone on Earth. Their lives are endlessly fascinating.
several yellow aphids on plant
Aphids
More than 1,300 species in North America north of Mexico
Aphids are common, small, soft-bodied insects that suck plant juices. To see them well, you probably need a hand lens, but the damage they do to plants can be all too obvious!
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.