Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 181 - 187 of 187 results
Delta flower scarab clinging to flower
Delta Flower Scarab
Trigonopeltastes delta
The delta flower scarab got its name from the bright yellow triangle on its pronotum. It commonly visits a variety of flowers in prairies, old fields, and other open areas.
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.
Honeybee worker on flower
Honeybee
Apis mellifera
The honeybee is a major pollinator of many field crops and tree fruits. Native to the Old World, it is not native to North America. In 1985 it was named the official state insect of Missouri.
Common true katydid female on a leaf
Katydids
About 250 species in North America north of Mexico
Katydids are a family of insects that may also be called longhorned grasshoppers, because of their super-long antennae. Many resemble green leaves. Others are brown. Members of some species may be bright pink or yellow.
Common meadow katydid female viewed from the side
Common Meadow Katydid
Orchelimum vulgare
The common meadow katydid is aptly named: it is well-known and widespread in the eastern United States. Listen for its distinctive call — like a pulsating circular lawn sprinkler ratcheting around — in midsummer to the first hard frost.
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.
Photo of an adult female field cricket
Field Crickets
Gryllus spp., Acheta domesticus, and others in subfamily Gryllinae
Field crickets and house crickets are celebrated singers. There are several species in 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.