Field Guide

Land Invertebrates

Showing 231 - 240 of 247 results
Female hooded grouse locust perched on a rock
Pygmy Grasshoppers
About 30 species in North America north of Mexico
Members of the pygmy grasshopper family are small and have a distinctively elongated pronotum — this plate, which only covers the shoulders of most other grasshoppers, extends back to cover the abdomen in this family. Most live along streams and in other wet habitats.
image of Tumblebug with fecal ball
Tumblebugs
Canthon spp.
Tumblebugs in genus Canthon are usually seen on, near, and beneath poop. They are sometimes seen rolling dung balls away from the original heap, heads down and pushing the ball backward with their hind legs.
Grapevine beetle walking on a person's hand
Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeids)
About 1,700 species in North America north of Mexico
The scarab beetle family is very large, with breathtaking variety — and often great beauty. Many scarabs are large and colorful.
Dark flower scarab clinging to a flower
Dark Flower Scarab
Euphoria sepulcralis
The dark flower scarab is a scarab beetle that apparently eats pollen, nectar, and perhaps other parts of flowers in late spring, sometimes becoming an agricultural pest. The larvae grow up beneath manure or other decaying materials.
Photo of Nemognatha blister beetle on sunflower
Nemognatha Blister Beetles
Nemognatha spp.
Nemognatha blister beetles are leathery beetles often seen visiting flowers. There are nearly 30 species in North America.
May beetle on wood
May Beetles (June Bugs)
Phyllophaga spp.
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.
Dung beetle rolling a dung ball
Dung Beetles (Tumblebugs)
Subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae
Horses, cattle, dogs, and deer all drop manna from above to eager dung beetles, which collect, hoard, and guard the precious organic materials left undigested in the pile.
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.
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.