The weta - it’s a large and primitive insect, native to New Zealand. The reason I chose to write about wetas today is so more people know what they are. When I used a weta reference in my book Talking Dogs, Aliens and Purple People Eaters my editor didn’t know what I was talking about and I had to rewrite slightly to describe a weta as a prehistoric cricket-like insect.
There are five broad groups of weta:
1. Tree weta
2. Ground weta
3. Cave weta
4. Giant weta
5. Tusked weta
Wetas are nocturnal and live in a variety of habitats including grassland, scrub land, forests and caves. They live under stones and in rotten logs or in pre-formed burrows in trees.
They are mainly herbivores in the wild but are known to eat other insects. They can bite but are not poisonous. Species of weta are still being discovered and several are endangered. In the wild they were traditionally eaten by the tuatara (a prehistoric reptile native to NZ) but these days many are destroyed by rats, cats and dogs and of course, humans encroaching on their habitat.
The weta sheds its exoskeleton when moulting.
At 18 months the male weta selects a female and they spend time together in the male’s territory. (Romance in the insect world!)
At around two years old the female will lay 100 - 300 eggs. The parents die before the weta eggs hatch 3 - 5 months later.
The Department of Conservation in New Zealand is currently involved in weta breeding programs and translocation to safe sites such as protected islands like Tiritiri Matangi and Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf. The weta respond well to a captive breeding program.
The following photo is of a giant weta.
I’ve never seen a giant weta but have personal experience with both tree and cave wetas. We often find tree wetas in our garden and will return them to live in peace. They can nip and look creepy but I don’t mind them. My experience with cave wetas is a bit more spooky. When I was a kid my girlfriend lived on a farm with limestone caves. It was a favorite pastime to visit the caves and wander through them with a candle and maybe a torch to search for stalactites, stalagmites and glow worms. When I think about our cave visits now I can see how dangerous it was but for us it was an adventure - an hour or two of wandering through pristine caves. One day we discovered a new tunnel and were all set to charge into it to explore. I happened to shine the torch over the ceiling and it was covered with huge cave wetas! Really covered. I think I let out a screech and dropped the torch and we all decided to explore another part of the cave. I also took to checking my gumboots carefully and shaking vigorously before I put my feet in them. This lasted for a few weeks until the initial horror passed. I’ve never been bitten by a weta but I’m always careful not to get too close either. I can appreciate them from a distance.
How are you with insects? Do you like them or hate them with a passion? Do you have any insect stories to tell? What do you think of New Zealand’s weta?
Oh. My. God. **shudders**!!!!!
That giant weta is going to give me nightmares tonight!
by Christina Phillips January 21st, 2008 at 3:56 amThat is freaking me right out. Our bugs aren’t that big … probably cause it’s colder here. I hate bugs Shell, you’re giving me goosebumps seriously.
Big hugs to you!! :D
by Amy Ruttan January 21st, 2008 at 12:50 pmI’ve never seen one of the giant wetas. I’m okay with bugs, which is probably just as well since hubby is fascinated with them and is always shoving them under my nose to look at. Mice and rats - not so keen on those!
by Shelley Munro January 21st, 2008 at 2:14 pmThat thing is just wrong.
by Ciar Cullen January 21st, 2008 at 2:30 pmThe weta resembles our grasshoppers. I don’t have a problem with bugs, but don’t think I’d like to encounter a giant weta.
by Estella January 21st, 2008 at 3:00 pmI am so not an insect person!
by Lillian Feisty January 21st, 2008 at 5:55 pmBig…bug…
One good thing about the cold of Canada. Though it wouldn’t stop me from coming to visit you Shelley. I’d brave the wetas!!
by Christine d'Abo January 21st, 2008 at 6:11 pmHey, you guys have bears, snakes, scorpions and big cats. We have to win at something
by Shelley Munro January 21st, 2008 at 7:07 pmHi Shell! I came by to say hello and to catch up on you! I am really freaked out by ALL bugs, but the pictures are absolutely beautiful!
by Kris January 21st, 2008 at 10:12 pmNot an insect person here. Having grown up in Louisiana where there are giant roaches that can fly, I still jump at dark spots in my peripheral vision.
Funny, if tragic giant insect story.
When I was in fifth grade, one of my classmates captured some sort of enormous insect and brought it to school to show us. I have no idea what it was, but as I recall it was black and yellow and looked a bit like a locust - and was probably slightly smaller than the giant weta pictured in your post.
After show and tell was over, it was time for lunch so we all lined up to go. When we got outside, my classmate let the creature go in the grass. Everyone was watching it to see where it would go. Me? I was talking to my friends in line.
Crunch.
I still remember the looks my classmates shot me. Like it wasn’t bad enough to have all that bug goo on my shoe.
by Jenyfer Matthews January 21st, 2008 at 11:31 pmLOL, Jenyfer. You’re lucky they didn’t give you a horrid nickname because of it!
by Shelley Munro January 22nd, 2008 at 2:20 am[...] has been released in the pest-free area including brown teal ducks, the little spotted kiwi, giant wetas, tuatara, stitchbird, North Island saddleback, weka, North Island robin and bellbirds to name a [...]
by Shelley Munro Blog » Blog Archive » Inland Island: Karori Wildlife Sanctuary February 20th, 2008 at 12:19 am