Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 41 - 50 of 238 results
Acrobat ants on a leaf
Ants
More than 700 species in North America
Ants are everywhere! They outnumber us a million to one. These colonial insects are familiar to everyone on Earth. Their lives are endlessly fascinating.
image of a Spittlebug and nest on plant stem
Spittlebugs and Froghoppers
About 60 species in North America north of Mexico
The nymphs of spittlebugs and froghoppers are famous for hiding in small foamy masses of fluid. The “spit” conceals them as they suck juices from plant stems. The adults resemble leafhoppers.
Eastern cicada killer wasp on sandy surface
Eastern Cicada-Killer Wasp
Sphecius speciosus
The eastern cicada-killer wasp might be the scariest-looking wasp in our state. But it is not aggressive to people and is virtually harmless, unless handled roughly. Like other ground-nesting wasps, nests can be recognized by the mound of earth excavated by the female.
Image of a great golden digger wasp.
Great Golden Digger Wasp
Sphex ichneumoneus
A large solitary wasp, the great golden digger wasp occurs throughout Missouri. The abdomen is orange in front and black at the end. The head and thorax have golden hairs. Like all solitary wasps, this species is not aggressive.
image of a Thread-Waisted Wasp
Ammophila Wasps
Ammophila spp.
There are more than 60 species of ammophila wasps in North America. They tend to be black, with orange on the abdomen. They are but one genus in the thread-waisted wasp family.
Glossy black spider wasp manipulating paralyzed spider
Spider Wasps
About 300 species in North America north of Mexico
People notice spider wasps when they notice a female lugging a captured spider to its doom. In most cases, she will drag the spider into a burrow, lay an egg on the spider, and then hunt for more spiders!
Photo of an eastern yellowjacket
Yellowjackets (Vespula Wasps)
Vespula spp.
Yellowjackets are bee-sized social wasps that build paper nests, usually underground. Their defensive stinging can make them a major pest when they nest near people.
image of Black-and-Yellow Mud Dauber
Mud Daubers
Three genera: Sceliphron, Trypoxylon, and Chalybion
Mud daubers are among the most familiar solitary wasps. They belong to a number of related groups, but we call them all "mud daubers" because they all build their nests out of mud. One way to tell the different mud daubers apart is by the distinctive architecture they use.
Image of a red velvet ant
Velvet Ants
Nearly 500 species in North America north of Mexico
Velvet ants are not true ants. True ants are social insects, while velvet ants are a group of solitary wasps. Female velvet ants are wingless throughout their lives; males are winged.
Photo of an American burying beetle
American Burying Beetle
Nicrophorus americanus
The American burying beetle is endangered statewide and threatened nationally. Restoration efforts are under way. This brightly patterned beetle specializes in cleaning carrion from the landscape, burying dead mice, birds, and other creatures.
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.