Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 21 - 30 of 40 results
Photo of a Texas brown tarantula
Texas Brown Tarantula
Aphonopelma hentzi
The Texas brown tarantula is our state's largest spider. The hairy body and legs are uniformly dark chocolate brown, with reddish hairs on the carapace. Look for it on dry, rocky glades in the southern half of the state.
Image of a female Argiope garden spider.
Black-and-Yellow Garden Spider
Argiope aurantia
The black-and-yellow garden spider is large but harmless. It sets up large, circular webs in gardens and grasslands. Lucky gardeners can host this remarkable pest exterminator all season long.
striped bark scorpion on a rock
Striped Bark Scorpion
Centruroides vittatus
Striped bark scorpions are pale yellowish brown, usually with two lengthwise dark stripes on the abdomen. It is the only species of scorpion in Missouri. It occurs in glades and other dry, warm, rocky areas, and sometimes in buildings and shelters and under piles of wood, brush, or garbage.
image of Xystodesmid Millipede crawling on a forest floor
Xystodesmid Millipedes
8 tribes, with about 23 genera, in North America north of Mexico
Millipedes in family Xystodesmidae often have bright colors that serve as a warning to potential predators that they may secrete foul or toxic substances.
Female straight-lanced meadow katydid resting on a leaf, viewed from side
Straight-Lanced Meadow Katydid
Conocephalus strictus
The straight-lanced meadow katydid is common in pastures, roadsides, and crop lands. The female's swordlike ovipositor is longer than the rest of her body. The male's song is a relatively soft buzz that sometimes breaks into a series of rapid, skipping tics.
Pink katydid standing on a milkweed leaf
Oblong-Winged Katydid
Amblycorypha oblongifolia
The oblong-winged katydid is one of many species in the katydid family. Although it is usually green in most places, some populations made up of pink-form individuals.
Female Carolina mantis
Mantids (Mantises)
Stagomantis carolina, Mantis religiosa, and Tenodera sinensis
Most people recognize mantids, or mantises, when they see them, but it takes more practice to distinguish among the different species of these efficient insect predators.
Female pigeon tremex resting on a concrete surface
Horntails
About 28 species in North America
Horntails look a lot like wasps but have a taillike spine that projects from the tip of the abdomen. Their cylindrical bodies also lack the narrow waist so common in wasps.
Blue-winged wasp viewed from above, showing wrinkled surface of wings
Scoliid Wasps
About 20 species in North America north of Mexico
Scoliid wasps are a family of beetle hunters. Large, rather hairy wasps, some are handsomely colored. The female digs in soil, finds a scarab beetle grub, and lays an egg on it.
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.