d3 insert order

index.html

<ul></ul>

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://d3js.org/d3.v3.min.js"></script>
<script>
d3.select("ul").selectAll("li").data(d3.range(2, 5), identity).enter()
  .append("li")
  .text(identity);

d3.select("ul").selectAll("li").data(d3.range(0, 8), identity).enter()
  .insert("li", function(d, i) {
    return this.querySelector("li:nth-child(" + (i + 1) + ")");
  })
  .text(identity);

function identity(d) { return d; }
</script>