This is the first published invertebrate survey focusing on a low‐altitude shrubland community in New Zealand. Invertebrates were collected from a remnant native shrubland (450 m) protected by the Brookdale Conservation Covenant, Rock and Pillar Range, Otago, New Zealand in late summer/autumn 1999. Sampling was carried out by beating 30 randomly chosen shrubs of each of two native species: Olearia bullata H. D. Wilson & Garnock‐Jones (Asteraceae) and Coprosma propinqua A. Cunn. (Rubiaceae). Fifty pitfall traps were also set under the same shrubs and on nearby open patches of exotic grassland. Three Phyla, six Classes, 25 Orders and approximately 280 species were recorded. An annotated list of taxa is presented, and plant/host associations plus other observations on the fauna are discussed. Approximately 90% of the identified species were endemic, emphasising the importance of such remnant habitats for the protection of New Zealand's biodiversity.