Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 11 - 20 of 49 results
Photo of a meloe blister beetle, female, on ground
Blister Beetles
More than 400 species in North America north of Mexico
The name is a warning: blister beetles are famous for their chemical defenses. Beetles in this family can exude an oil that can cause a person’s skin to blister.
Click beetle resting on a brick wall
Click Beetles
Approximately 1,000 species in North America
Their streamlined shape is distinctive, but the behavior of click beetles is even more unique: Placed on their backs, these beetles flip suddenly into the air with an audible click.
image of Soldier Beetle on Goldenrod
Soldier Beetles (Cantharids)
Nearly 500 species in North America north of Mexico
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.
Dogbane beetle resting on a window
Dogbane Beetle
Chrysochus auratus
The shiny, iridescent dogbane beetle is one of Missouri's most beautiful insects. As the name indicates, this beautiful beetle feeds on dogbanes.
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.
Photo of a rainbow scarab beetle, male.
Rainbow Scarab
Phanaeus vindex
Although most dung beetles are dull black, the rainbow scarab is bright metallic green and copper.
Male eastern Hercules beetle walking in grass
Eastern Hercules Beetle
Dynastes tityus
The eastern Hercules beetle is a breathtaking animal. Like its Greek-hero namesake, it is big and strong. Males have horns; females do not. Hercules beetles are harmless to people.
Red-femured milkweed borer beetle on milkweed leaf
Milkweed Longhorns
Tetraopes spp.
Milkweed longhorns are a genus of longhorned beetles that feed on milkweed. They are red with black spots. The species are very similar.
Swamp milkweed leaf beetle on a leaf it has chewed on.
Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle
Labidomera clivicollis
The swamp milkweed leaf beetle is found on the various milkweeds it eats, often in grassy areas or on roadsides. The exact pattern of orange and black varies among individuals.
Photo of a meloe blister beetle, female, on ground
Oil Beetles
Meloe spp.
Blister beetles in the genus Meloe are called oil beetles because of a yellowish oil they excrete from their joints when squeezed or distressed. This oil contains cantharidin, an irritating chemical that can cause blistering in many people.
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.