In the 2012 President's Budget Request, the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is terminated. As a result, all resources, databases, tools, and applications within this web site will be removed on January 15, 2012. For more information, please refer to the NBII Program Termination page.
Invertebrates are animals that lack a backbone or spinal column. This diverse group includes insects, mollusks, crustaceans, worms, and similar organisms. Invertebrates are found in freshwater and marine environments as well as in terrestrial habitats.
Invertebrates that depend on freshwater ecosystems such as lakes, rivers, streams and ponds are called freshwater invertebrates. By contrast, terrestrial invertebrates are species that live entirely on land and do not depend on aquatic ecosystems to complete any phase of their life cycle.
Butterflies and Moths Learn about butterflies and moths and explore additional resources for the region, for North America, for kids, and for teachers.
So Many Invertebrates
Under the modern system of classification, there is no one unified group of invertebrates. All invertebrate animals belong to the Kingdom Animalia, and there are more than thirty phlya (singular phlyum) that contain invertebrates. Invertebrates are grouped together by this common term not because they share features in common, but largely because of what they lack: a backbone or vertebrae.
All of these phyla are considered to be invertebrates:
Authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world can be explored using the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), a partner of the NBII.
Invertebrates as Pollinators
A hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe). [Photo: Bruce Marlin, www.cirrusimage.com.]
Invertebrates, such as ants, bees, wasps, beetles, butterflies, moths, flies, mosquitoes, and midges all act as pollinators.
Learn more about other pollinators and pollination.
Featured Resources
Butterflies and Moths of North America is an interactive, searchable, and updateable web-enabled database of butterfly and moth information. Data contained therein include distribution maps, species accounts, photographs, and checklists of species by U.S. county or by Mexican state. Go directly to the web site, or learn more about this project.
The Children's Butterfly Site is an educational opportunity for all ages. Investigate a butterfly's transformation during metamorphosis, browse images of species from across the globe, or print coloring book pages. Learn all about these magnificent creatures by reading answers to the extensive frequently asked questions.
The NBII Program is administered by the Biological Informatics Program of the U.S. Geological Survey
![Stoneflies (Plecoptera) [Photograph: EPA]](https://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/nbii/20120112202612im_/http://www.nbii.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_22671_1779_6484_43/http%3B/cbi-lap7.cbi.cr.usgs.gov%3B7097/publishedcontent/publish/geographic/mountain_prairie/invertebrates_intro_portlet/mpin__invertebrates_intro_3.jpg)
![Greenish Blue [Photo: Copyright, Paul Opler]](https://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/nbii/20120112202612im_/http://www.nbii.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_22671_1779_6484_43/http%3B/cbi-lap7.cbi.cr.usgs.gov%3B7097/publishedcontent/publish/geographic/mountain_prairie/invertebrates_intro_portlet/greenish_blue_2.jpg)
![A hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe). [Photo: Bruce Marlin, www.cirrusimage.com.]](https://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/nbii/20120112202612im_/http://www.nbii.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_23080_1779_6484_43/http%3B/cbi-lap7.cbi.cr.usgs.gov%3B7097/publishedcontent/publish/geographic/mountain_prairie/pollinators_highlight/mpin_pollinators_highlight__narrow__1.jpg)
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