The series of IUCN Red Data Books on mammals, birds and reptiles is familiar to many people interested in conservation. The latest publication breaks new ground, being the first volume on animals without backbones, the invertebrates. Of all living things, the invertebrates have received least attention from conservationists, perhaps because they are often inconspicuous or poorly known. Governments and international organisations generally take an interest only in those relatively few species considered to be man’s enemies, the pests and disease carriers. The usefulness to man of many invertebrates is rarely emphasised, yet shrimps and lobsters are the bases of important fisheries, many invertebrates have potential medical use, and others, like earthworms and pollinating insects, play vital ecological roles. Conservation organisations also give the group a low priority, perhaps worried that the pandaloving public will withdraw its support if donations are seen to go to spiders, snails and other lowly animals.