Weta
Male Wellington tree weta
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Orthoptera Suborder: Ensifera Superfamily: Stenopelmatoidea, Rhaphidophoroidea Family: Anostostomatidae, Rhaphidophoridae

Weta are around 70 insect species endemic to the New Zealand archipelago. Weta are large by insect standards, some species among the largest and heaviest in the world. Their physical appearance is that of a cross between a cockroach and a cricket with the addition of large legs. The name comes from the Māori language word 'wētā'.^[1] Weta may refer to the following: Weta, an orthopterous insect in one of several genera endemic to New Zealand. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 483 pixel Image in higher resolution (2288 × 1382 pixel, file size: 638 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Weta Metadata This... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders,scorpions, etc. ... Orders Subclass Apterygota Archaeognatha (bristletails) Thysanura (silverfish) Subclass Pterygota Infraclass Paleoptera (Probably paraphyletic) Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Superorder Exopterygota Grylloblattodea (ice-crawlers) Mantophasmatodea (gladiators) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera (angel insects) Dermaptera (earwigs) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (stick insects) Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Psocoptera... Suborders and families Suborder Ensifera - crickets Superfamily Gryllacroidea Gryllacrididae - camel crikets Rhaphidophoridae - cave crickets Schizodactylidae - dune crickets Stenopelmatidae - king crickets Superfamily Grylloidea Gryllidae - true crickets Gryllotalpidae - mole cricket Mogoplistidae Myrmecophilidae Superfamily Tettigonioidea Anostostomatidae - king crickets Bradyporidae - armoured crickets Haglidae Phaneropteridae Tettigoniidae - katydids, koringkrieks Suborder Caelifera - grasshoppers, locusts Superfamily Acridoidea Acrididae... Sub-orders Cooloolidae Anostostomatidae Gryllacrididae Gryllidae Gryllotalpidae Haglidae Mogoplistidae Myrmecophilidae Rhaphidophoridae Stenopelmatidae Tettigoniidae Ensifera is a suborder of the order Orthoptera, comprising insects commonly known as Crickets. ... Subfamilies and genera See text The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae includes the cave wetas, cave crickets, camel crickets and sand treaders, of the suborder Ensifera, nearly all of which are found in association with caves or cave-like environments. ... This article is about the insect. ... This article is about the insect. ... Orders Subclass Apterygota Archaeognatha (bristletails) Thysanura (silverfish) Subclass Pterygota Infraclass Paleoptera (Probably paraphyletic) Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Superorder Exopterygota Grylloblattodea (ice-crawlers) Mantophasmatodea (gladiators) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera (angel insects) Dermaptera (earwigs) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (stick insects) Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Psocoptera... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... In biology and ecology endemic means exclusively native to a place or biota, in contrast to cosmopolitan or introduced. ... The Mergui Archipelago The Archipelago Sea, situated between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, the largest archipelago in the world by the number of islands. ... For other uses, see Cockroaches. ... Subfamilies See Taxonomy section Crickets, family Gryllidae (also known as true crickets), are insects somewhat related to grasshoppers and more closely related to katydids or bush crickets (family Tettigoniidae). ... An insect leg The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. ... Māori or Te Reo Māori,[1] commonly shortened to Te Reo (literally the language) functions as one of the official languages of New Zealand. ...

General characteristics

By virtue of their ability to cope with variations in temperature, weta can be found in a variety of environments including alpine, forests, grasslands, caves, shrub lands and urban gardens. They are nocturnal and flightless. Different species have different diets. Most weta eat other invertebrates but one group of weta endemic to New Zealand (the tree and giant weta) have evolved to eat mostly leaves, flowers and fruit. A nocturnal animal is one that sleeps during the day and is active at night - the opposite of the human (diurnal) schedule. ...

Defensive male Wellington tree weta

Weta can bite. Tree weta bites are painful but not particularly common. Weta can inflict painful scratches (with the potential of infection) but their defence displays are about looking large and spiky, and they will retreat if given a chance. Tree weta are known to arc their hind legs into the air in warning to foes. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (2288 × 1712 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (2288 × 1712 pixel, file size: 1. ... An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. ...

New Zealand had no native land mammals apart from native bats for millions of years before humans arrived. Ecological niches that were filled by mammals in other parts of the world were filled by native fauna in New Zealand. It has been suggested that the weta’s place in the ecosystem is comparable to that held by mice and other rodents elsewhere in the world. For example, like their foreign mouse equivalents, they are hunted by an owl: in this case the Morepork, New Zealand’s only surviving native owl. Weta also pass seeds of some plant species through their digestive tracts unharmed, thus acting as seed dispersers. It is yet to be seen how decreases in weta populations are affecting native plant species that rely on the weta's help. A coral reef near the Hawaiian islands is an example of a complex marine ecosystem. ... Suborders Sciuromorpha Castorimorpha Myomorpha Anomaluromorpha Hystricomorpha Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously-growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing. ... Binomial name Ninox novaeseelandiae (Gmelin, 1788) The Southern Boobook (Ninox novaeseelandiae), also called the mopoke or morepork, is a small brown owl found mainly in New Zealand and the more fertile and temperate parts of Australia. ... For other uses, see Owl (disambiguation). ...

Taxonomy and evolution

Tree weta climbing

Weta may have survived virtually unchanged since the Mesozoic era, although there is no fossil evidence of this. In this respect, they can be compared with the tuatara. Fossilized orthoptera have been found in Australia, and weta there are called King Crickets. Some people think that weta were present in ancient Gondwanaland before New Zealand separated from it although it is also possible they dispersed as they must have done so to colonise New Caledonia and the Chatham Islands. The Mesozoic Era is one of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. ... For the experimental music band, see Tuatara (band). ... This article is about the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. ...

Giant, tree, ground, and tusked weta are all members of the family Anostostomatidae (traditionally in the Stenopelmatidae, but recently separated). Cave weta are members of the family Rhaphidophoridae called cave crickets or camel crickets elsewhere], in a different Ensiferan superfamily. The hierarchy of scientific classification In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is a rank, or a taxon in that rank. ... This article is about the insect. ... Species Stenopelmatus coahuilensis Stenopelmatus fuscus Stenopelmatus intermedius Stenopelmatus longispina Stenopelmatus mescaleroensis Stenopelmatus navajo Stenopelmatus nigrocapitatus Stenopelmatus pictus plus numerous unnamed species (>30) The Jerusalem cricket (Stenopelmatus) is a genus of large, flightless insects native to western United States, along the Pacific Coast, and south into Mexico. ... This article is about the insect. ... Sub-orders Cooloolidae Anostostomatidae Gryllacrididae Gryllidae Gryllotalpidae Haglidae Mogoplistidae Myrmecophilidae Rhaphidophoridae Stenopelmatidae Tettigoniidae Ensifera is a suborder of the order Orthoptera, comprising insects commonly known as Crickets. ...

Giant weta

Poor Knights giant weta (Deinacrida fallai) - this specimen has an overall length of 20cm (8in)

There are 11 species of giant weta (Deinacrida spp.), most of which are significantly larger than other weta, despite already being large by insect standards. They are heavy insects with a body length of up to 10cm (4in) not inclusive of its lengthy legs and antennae, and weigh about 20-30g. A captive giant weta (Deinacrida heteracantha) filled with eggs reached a record 70g, making it one of the heaviest documented insects in the world ^[2] and heavier than a sparrow. The largest species of giant weta is the Little Barrier Island weta, also known as the wetapunga. Giant weta tend to be less social and more passive than other weta. They are classified in the genus Deinacrida, which is Greek for terrible grasshopper. They are found primarily on small islands off the coast of the main islands. Poor Knights Giant Weta at Bristol Zoo, Bristol, England. ... Poor Knights Giant Weta at Bristol Zoo, Bristol, England. ... Insects display a wide variety of antennal shapes. ... For other uses, see Sparrow (disambiguation). ... Little Barrier Island lies at the outer edge of the Hauraki Gulf, off the northern coast of New Zealands North Island. ... For other uses, see Genus (disambiguation). ... Species See text. ...

Tree weta

Tree weta (Hemideina) are those most commonly encountered in suburban settings. They are up to 40 mm long and most commonly live in holes in trees formed by beetle larvae. A large hole, called a gallery, might house up to ten females and one male. Tree weta are nocturnal. Their diet consists of plants and small insects. The males, which have much larger jaws than the females, hiss and bite when threatened. Species See text. ...

Female Wellington tree weta

There are seven species of tree weta: Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1800 × 1350 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1800 × 1350 pixel, file size: 1. ...

• The Auckland tree weta Hemideina thoracica (also called tokoriro) can be found throughout the North Island apart from the Wellington-Wairarapa region.
• The Wellington tree weta H. crassidens occupies Wellington, the Wairarapa, the northern parts of South Island, and the West Coast.
  • H. crassidens crassicruris was described from Stephens Island but is now recognized as H. crassidens.
• H. trewicki in Hawke's Bay.
• H. femorata in Canterbury.
• A rare H. ricta species in Banks Peninsula.
• The West Coast bush weta H. broughi largely overlaps with the Wellington tree weta on the West Coast.
• H. maori, the mountain stone weta, lives in the drier areas of the central South Island High Country. At most sites it lives on the ground, under stones or in crevices but in at least two sites which have not be modified greatly it happily lives both in trees and on the ground

Mountain stone weta can survive being frozen for months at a time in a state of suspended animation down to temperatures of -10°C. This is because their haemolymph (the insect equivalent of blood) contains special proteins which prevent ice from forming in their cells. North Island The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. ... For the first Duke of Wellington, see Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. ... Wairarapa (often known as The Wairarapa) is a geographical region of New Zealand. ... The South Island The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. ... The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. ... For other uses, see Hawkes Bay (disambiguation). ... The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. ... Banks Peninsula has a roughly circular shape, with many bays and two deep harbours. ... Hemolymph (or haemolymph) is the blood analogue used by those animals, such as all arthropods and most mollusks, that have an open circulatory system. ...

When the territories of species overlap, they may interbreed, although offspring are sterile.

Tusked weta

Tusked weta are distinctive because of the males having long curved tusks projecting forward from their jaws. The tusks are used to push an opponent; they are not used for biting. The females are similar to ground weta. Tusked weta are mainly carnivorous, eating worms and insects. They consist of three species: the Northland tusked weta Hemiandrus monstrosus, the Middle Island tusked weta Motuweta isolata, and a newly-discovered species called the Raukumara tusked weta, Motuweta riparia. The Northland tusked weta lives in tree holes similar to tree weta. The Middle Island tusked weta, also called the Mercury Island tusked weta after the islands on which it lives, was only discovered in 1970. It is a ground-dwelling weta, covering its shallow burrows with leaves. The Middle Island weta is the most endangered weta species and a Department of Conservation breeding program is establishing new colonies on other islands of the Mercury Island group. The Raukumara was discovered even more recently, in 1996, in the Raukumara Range near the Bay of Plenty. There are probably more species still to be identified. Species See text. ... A true-colour image acquired by NASAs Terra satellite, on October 23, 2002. ... The Raukumara Range lies north of Gisborne, near East Cape in New Zealands North Island. ... The Bay of Plenty, often abbreviated to BoP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name. ...

Ground weta

Ground weta are classified in the genus Hemiandrus There are about 40 species of ground weta in New Zealand and another seven in Australia. Most of the Hemiandrus have not been described. They hide in burrows in the ground during the day and conceal the exit hole with a door. During the night ground weta hunt invertebrate prey and eat fruit. Species See text. ...

Cave weta

The sixty species of cave weta have extra-long antennae, longer legs, a passive demeanour and deafness. Cave weta may be active within the confines of their caves during the daytime. They are classified as being in genera in Subfamily Ceuthophilinae of family Rhaphidophoridae, thus making them distant cousins of the other types of weta. The word deaf can have very different meanings depending on the background of the person speaking or the context in which the word is used. ... This article is about the insect. ...

Face Image File history File links Weta2. ...

Lower leg with 3 claws and suction pads Image File history File links Weta3. ...

Upper leg Image File history File links Weta4. ...

Underside with parasites Image File history File links Weta5. ...

Conservation

Although the weta had native predators in the form of birds, reptiles and bats before the arrival of humans, introduced species such as cats, hedgehogs, rats (including kiore) and mustelids have caused a sharp increase in the rate of predation. They are also vulnerable to habitat destruction caused by humans and modification of their habitat caused by introduced browsers. New Zealand’s Department of Conservation considers that 16 of the 70 species of weta are now at risk. Programmes to prevent extinctions have been implemented since the 1970s. Binomial name Rattus exulans (Peale, 1848) The Polynesian Rat or Pacific Rat (Rattus exulans), known to the Maori as Kiore, is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the Brown Rat and Black Rat. ... There are several Department of Conservations: New Zealand Department of Conservation California Department of Conservation This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Cultural references

• Peter Jackson's workshop is named Weta Workshop and his digital studio is named Weta Digital; his 2005 remake of King Kong features creatures bearing a strong physical resemblance to wetas, called Weta-Rexes.
• Weta is also the name of a now-disbanded rock group from the late 1990s, early 2000s.
• The Wetas is also the name of a now-disbanded rock group, from 1980.
• Wetas were occasionally featured in the New Zealand comic strip series Footrot Flats.

For other persons named Peter Jackson, see Peter Jackson (disambiguation). ... Weta Workshop is a physical effects company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film. ... Weta Digital is a digital visual effects company based in Wellington, New Zealand, an offshoot of the Weta Workshop physical effects company. ... King Kong is a 2005 remake of the 1933 King Kong film about a fictional giant ape called Kong. ... Weta-Rex properly called Deinacrida rex, (Terrible-Cricket King) is a fictional insect from the 2005 remake of King Kong. ... Weta was a four piece rock band from Wellington, New Zealand. ... The Wetas was a four piece rock band from Wellington, New Zealand. ... The very first edition of Footrot Flats released in 1978. ...

Footnotes

References

• Johns, P. M. (1997). "The Gondwanaland weta: family Anostostomatidae (formerly in Stenopelmatidae, Henicidae or Mimnermidae): nomenclatural problems, world checklist, new genera and species". Journal of Orthoptera Research 6: 125-138.
• Steve Trewick; Mary Morgan-Richards. New Zealand Invertebrate Speciation. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
• Greg H Sherley (1998). Threatened Weta Recovery Plan. Department of Conservation. Retrieved on 2007-11-07.

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 128th day of the year (129th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• New Zealand Department of Conservation’s page on weta
• Weta from New Zealand
• The Weta of New Zealand
• Bug identification - Orthoptera
• Kiwi Conservation Club
• Sexual selection research on weta