These 10 Bugs Found in Missouri Will Send Shivers Down Your Spine
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Stephanie Butler
Author
Missouri his home to mountains, trees, hills, rivers, lakes, plains…well, just a whole lot of nature. And with nature’s beauty, unfortunately, there are also BUGS! So many bugs! Here is just a sample of bugs you might see in Missouri…some are dangerous, some are just ugly. Ewww!
If you happen to see this bug, steer clear, they are called assassin bugs because of their aggressive and violent repetitive stabbing attacks upon their prey. While humans are not really their "prey", their bites are said to be very painful.
Although these relatives of yellow jackets are not particularly interested in humans, they will sting repeatedly if provoked.
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Although these spiders are intimidating to look at, they will only drop to the ground if threatened or disturbed. They wait upside-down in their webs for their prey.
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Similar to a person's allergic reaction to bees, the worst brown recluse bites are generally to those who are sensitive to them. It's impossible to know how a bite will affect you or whether it was in fact a brown recluse, so it is advised that if you are bitten by one, you capture it and take it to the doctor with you, so a proper diagnosis can be made.
Just as the name suggests, Cicada Killer's will attack Cicada's in flight and sting them, then take them back to their nest for consumption. For this reason, the more cicadas, the more cicada killers. It will sting humans if provoked, but if you leave it alone, most likely it will also leave you alone.
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These bugs are not scary at all, especially considering they are most often mistaken for hummingbirds. You can find them in flower gardens and they are fascinating to watch.
OK, so Luna Moth's aren't scary or really even gross, but they are interesting in color and found most often in wooded areas. Like most moths, they are attracted to light, so you might see them if you keep a light on outside. They aren't listed as endangered yet, but they are very sensitive to pollution and in danger, so if you see one, maybe just leave it alone.
Better known in the midwest as "17 year cicadas" due to their showing up every thirteen to seventeen years in droves. During these times, they seem to be everywhere.
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This looks so scary all blown up in a picture, but in reality these are so tiny, they go unnoticed by and are harmless to humans. They do have venom glands in their claws, but their prey of mites are so microscopic we should probably just thank them for taking care of the bugs we cannot see.
Also not the most scary of bugs, I include them here because they are super common and have always freaked me out. They can be found in dark warm places or even within the pages of a book (they eat the glue in the book bindings).
Whether scary or just plain icky, bugs are here to stay and we just have to put up with them. What are some of the creepy crawlies you have noticed?
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