A special issue on insect conservation and islands -- Insect conservation on islands: setting the scene and defining the needs -- Butterflies of European islands: the implications of the geography and ecology of rarity and endemicity for conservation -- Island size is not the only consideration. Ranking priorities for the conservation of butterflies on Italian offshore islands -- A multidimensional characterization of rarity applied to the Aegean tenebrionid beetles (Coleoptera Tenebrionidae) -- The occurrence and distribution of carabid beetles (Carabidae) on islands in the Baltic Sea: a review -- Conservation of Southern Ocean Islands: invertebrates as exemplars -- Preliminary conservation status and needs of an oceanic island fauna: the case of Seychelles insects -- Insect conservation in early succession on islands: lessons from Surtsey, Iceland, and the Krakatau Archipelago, Indonesia -- Issues and implications for research on disturbed oceanic islands illustrated through an ant survey of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands -- Conservation status and needs of butterflies (Lepidoptera) on the Torres Strait Islands -- Climate variability, biological control and an insect pest outbreak on Australia's Coral Sea islets: lessons for invertebrate conservation -- Grasshopper outbreak challenges conservation status of a small Hawaiian Island -- History of weta (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae) translocation in New Zealand: lessons learned, islands as sanctuaries and the future -- Possible rescue from extinction: transfer of a rare New Zealand tusked weta to islands in the Mercury group -- Population studies and conservation of Jamaica's endangered swallowtail butterfly Papilio (Pterourus) homerus -- Notes on the biology, captive management and conservation status of the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect (Dryococelus australis) (Phasmatodea) -- Invasive species threats to native aquatic insect biodiversity and conservation measures in Hawai'i and French Polynesia -- Philosophical justifications for the extirpation of non-indigenous species: the case of the grasshopper Schistocerca nitens (Orthoptera) on the Island of Nihoa, Hawaii. A series of original papers and reviews dealing with the peculiarities of island insects and their conservation in many parts of the world. Contributions to this special issue of Journal of Insect Conservation range from biogeographical analyses andecological features of island insects and their evolution to the variety of concerns for their wellbeing, and practical conservation through a variety of, sometimes novel, approaches. They provide a valuable and up-to-date resource for entomologists and conservation practitioners.