Field Guide

Fireflies are amazing beetles that use “cold light” (bioluminescence) to attract mates. They are commonly seen as they fly and glow in summer evenings.

Soldier beetles are most often seen on flowers. Many species in this family are pollinators. Yellow, orange, and red are their most common colors, besides black and brown.

May beetles, or June bugs, are common beetles that are named for the months they are most numerous. Clumsy walkers and fliers, they are usually brownish and are attracted to lights at night.

The green June beetle is a common type of scarab beetle in Missouri. These large, metallic green beetles buzz loudly when they fly. They are attracted to ripe and rotting fruit and compost piles.

The emerald ash borer is a highly destructive, invasive beetle that kills every type of ash tree — even healthy, vigorous ones.

Ground beetles are a family of mostly nocturnal or light-shunning beetles that tend to be shiny black and have grooved wing covers. This group also includes tiger beetles, however, which includes many colorful daytime fliers.

Dizzyingly fast runners and fliers, tiger beetles are remarkable, and often very colorful, insect predators.

Leaf beetles, or chrysomelid beetles, are members of a large, diverse, often very colorful beetle family. As the name suggests, they eat leaves and other plant parts and are common on foliage.

The scarab beetle family is very large, with breathtaking variety — and often great beauty. Many scarabs are large and colorful.

Despite its decorative bronze wing shields, metallic green thorax, and black-and-white striped abdomen, the Japanese beetle is a serious agricultural pest.