Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 41 - 50 of 80 results
Media
Photo of a Harvestman, viewed from above
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 6,500 species have been named so far, worldwide.
Description
Daddy longlegs, or harvestmen, are familiar Missouri animals. They are not spiders, but opilionids. Unlike spiders, they have a fused body form and lack silk and venom glands.
Media
filmy dome spider
Species Types
Scientific Name
Neriene radiata (formerly Prolinyphia marginata)
Description
The filmy dome spider is one of the most abundant woodland spiders in Missouri. Although the spider is tiny, its snare web, which looks like an upside-down silk bowl, is conspicuous throughout the year.
Media
Photo of female spiny-bellied orbweaver (spined micrathena) on a leaf
Species Types
Scientific Name
Micrathena gracilis
Description
The color pattern can vary, but the ten-spined, chunky abdomen sets the female spined micrathena apart from all other spiders.
Media
Photo of a sowbug (left) and pillbug (right).
Species Types
Scientific Name
Land-dwelling members of the crustacean order Isopoda
Description
Pillbugs, roly-polies, woodlice, and sowbugs — the terrestrial members of order Isopoda are familiar to anyone who has overturned a rock. But what do you really know about them?
Media
Wood cockroach crawling on tree
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 100 species of cockroaches and termites in North America north of Mexico
Description
Cockroaches well-known: they are flattened, small, brown or black, often shiny insects that can hide in tight crevices and lack specialized appendages. Recently, termites have been included in their order.
Media
Lace bugs on a leaf
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 165 species in North American north of Mexico
Description
Grayish, small, flattened, and rectangular, lace bugs have a lacy network of ridges on the wings and body. They suck nutrients from foliage with their beaks. The resulting pale spots on leaves might be the first sign of their presence.
Media
Peacock fly resting on a thistle leaf
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 300 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
Tephretid fruit flies, in the family Tephritidae, are often called peacock flies for the intricately patterned, often brightly colored wings of many species.
Media
image of Xystodesmid Millipede crawling on a forest floor
Species Types
Scientific Name
8 tribes, with about 23 genera, in North America north of Mexico
Description
Millipedes in family Xystodesmidae often have bright colors that serve as a warning to potential predators that they may secrete foul or toxic substances.
Media
Photo of an adult two-lined spittlebug on a leaf
Species Types
Scientific Name
Prosapia bicincta
Description
The two-lined spittlebug is a common member of the froghopper family. The two lines may be red, orange, or yellow. Some individuals are all black, except for the red eyes.
Media
Dogwood spittlebug resting on the edge of a leaf
Species Types
Scientific Name
Clastoptera proteus
Description
The adult dogwood spittlebug has distinctive black and yellow markings. It feeds on dogwoods, blueberries, and their relatives.
See Also
Media
Photo of a Yellow-Collared Scape Moth
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
image of Plume Moth on blade of grass
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
Photo of an Isabella Tiger Moth
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.