Bug kids
Quail Island nature lovers
An invertebrate is an animal, such as an insect or mollusc, that has no backbone or spinal column.
New Zealand has a diverse and interesting population of invertebrates. They play a vital role in maintaining many of New Zealand's native bird populations and are fundamental to ecosystem processes.
Many of New Zealand's invertebrates are flightless and are facing extinction, for many of the same reasons that our native birds are.
Other factors posing a significant threat to invertebrate populations include habitat modification and displacement by exotic invertebrate pests.
In the past little attention has been given to invertebrates in New Zealand and the majority of research had been conducted on exotic invertebrates of economic importance. Entomologists (specialists in invertebrate ecology) face the task of assessing and prioritising the conservation value of numerous species of endangered invertebrates, many of which haven't been formally described.
Entomologists are focusing their attention on providing basic ecological and distribution information on a number of endangered species around New Zealand.
The freshwater crayfish/koura is dark green and mottled like the stones it lives amongst on stream bottoms.
Flax snails usually live in broadleaf forest and scrub.
New Zealand's streams are home to macroinvertebrates - tiny animals that live on and under rocks, waterplants, wood or debris. They have no backbones and can be seen without a magnifying glass or microscope.
Once widespread through Northland, the kauri snail now has a limited distribution in parts of Northland and on a few offshore islands.
New Zealand's endemic Powelliphanta are giants of the snail world.
Corals are invertebrate animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria (from the Greek word 'Cnidos' meaning stinging nettle). There are five main classes of Cnidaria.
Weta have been around long enough to see dinosaurs come and go and to evolve into more than 70 different species, all of them endemic to New Zealand.
Lakes and streams are teeming with life but most of these organisms cannot be seen with the naked eye.
We have a number of important conservation projects underway all around New Zealand. These include:
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