THE GIANT WETA…I’m sorry!!! IT CAN OUTWEIGH A...

[The Librarian]

THE GIANT WETA…I’m sorry!!! IT CAN OUTWEIGH A MOUSE. The giant weta is the world’s heaviest reported insect. It can weigh up to 2.5 ounces. ITS NAME MEANS “GOD OF UGLY THINGS.” The name weta comes from the Maori word wetapunga, or “god of ugly things” The genus name, deinacrida, means “terrible grasshopper.” IT LOVES CARROTS. We learned that feeding the insects carrots is quite common. IT HAS DOZENS OF WETA COUSINS. There are over 70 species of weta in New Zealand. ?The giant weta’s close relatives include the carnivorous tusked weta, the tree weta, and the cave weta. Alpine weta the ALPINE WETA CAN FREEZE SOLID DURING WINTER, THEN THAWING OUT ONCE SPRING COMES. IT CAN’T JUMP. The giant wetas are too heavy to jump or fly. Some of its relatives, like the tree weta, are more agile and can jump, but giant weta are decidedly earth-bound. IT’S CLOSE TO EXTINCTION THANKS TO RATS. When humans arrived in New Zealand hundreds of years ago, they inadvertently brought weta predators along with them, like rats and cats, which ate the insects. First described in 1842, the giant weta was considered extinct on mainland New Zealand by the 1960s, though they were once populous across the northern island. Giant weta are now considered limited to Little Barrier Island, about 50 miles northeast of Auckland. IT BREATHES THROUGH ITS EXOSKELETON. Like other insects, the weta doesn’t have lungs; it breathes through its exoskeleton. Holes in the weta’s exterior shell connect to tubes that pump oxygen to every cell in the insect’s body. IT HAS EARS ON ITS KNEES. The holes that serve as weta ears are located just below the knee joint on the front legs.

View the full article