Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 191 - 200 of 207 results
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Female spider wasp grasping and dragging body of sac spider
Species Types
Scientific Name
Auplopus spp.
Description
There are 10 species of spider wasps in genus Auplopus in North America north of Mexico. They often snip off the legs of the spiders they capture, which makes them easier to move around.
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Mating pair of common claybank tiger beetles at Smith CA, April 16, 2022
Species Types
Scientific Name
Cicindela limbalis
Description
The common claybank tiger beetle, or green-margined tiger beetle, occurs on dirt clay soils in open areas in spring and, less abundantly, in late summer. Color varies from red to purple to green. The outer shell edges are often edged with shiny green.
Media
Tarnished plant bug resting on a leaf
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 2,000 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
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.
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Obscure bird grasshopper on a grapefruit tree leaf
Species Types
Scientific Name
Schistocerca spp.
Description
About six species of bird grasshoppers occur in Missouri. Most are attractively marked, large insects that gracefully fly from danger, almost like birds.
Media
A darkling beetle, genus Asiopus, walking on a white-painted wall
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 1,200 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
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.
Media
Rove beetle, Platydracus sp., viewed from above
Species Types
Scientific Name
More than 4,400 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
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.
Media
American bird grasshopper on round-headed bush clover and big bluestem
Species Types
Scientific Name
Schistocerca americana
Description
The American bird grasshopper is a large grasshopper with ornate markings. It is a good flier that floats upward into trees. Note the pale stripe running down the back.
Media
A fungus weevil, probably Eurymycter tricarinatus, perched on a leaf
Species Types
Scientific Name
About 120 species in North America north of Mexico
Description
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.
Media
Female five-banded thynnid wasp taking nectar on mountain mint flowers in a prairie
Species Types
Scientific Name
Myzinum quinquecinctum
Description
Female and male five-banded thynnid wasps look quite different. Both are banded with black and yellow, but the females are large and heavy-looking, while the males, often seen in groups, are much skinnier and have a scythe-shaped false stinger on the hind end.
Media
European hornet resting on a window screen
Species Types
Scientific Name
Vespa crabro
Description
The European hornet is a large, nonnative hornet that was introduced to New York in the mid-1800s. They now occur across most of the eastern United States, including Missouri. People may misidentify them as the highly publicized, so-called murder hornets.
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.