All 123 Missouri records of the North American least shrew come from GBIF rather than iNaturalist, no surprise for an animal barely bigger than a thumb that spends its life under leaf litter and grass thatch. Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Big Oak Tree State Park, and Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge cover exactly the wetland and grassy floodplain edges this shrew favors.
Reports spike hard in October and November, with a smaller June bump, but that fall surge likely tracks trapping surveys timed to cooler weather rather than a true population swing. This species is unusual among shrews for nesting in groups instead of alone, sometimes even denning inside beehives, which earned it the nickname bee shrew. NatureServe lists it S4, Apparently Secure, in Missouri, one of the more comfortable rankings in this group.
Full species profile
