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Weta
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<p><strong>Weta</strong> is the name <font color="#000000">applied to about 70 insect species endemic to New Zealand. There are many similar species around the world, most are in the southern hemisphere. The name comes from the Māori word 'wētā' and is the same in the plural (like 'sheep'). The Māori for the Giant Weta is 'wētā punga' (lumpy or jointed weta), sometimes rendered in English as 'god of ugly things'.</font></p>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">General characteristics</font></span></h2>
<p><font color="#000000">Many weta are large by insect standards and some species are among the largest and heaviest in the world. Their physical appearance is like a katydid or long-horned grasshopper or a cricket, but the hind legs are enlarged and usually very spiny. Many are wingless. Because they can cope with variations in temperature, weta are found in a variety of environments including alpine, forests, grasslands, caves, shrub lands and urban gardens. They are nocturnal and all New Zealand species are flightless. Different species have different diets. Most weta are predators or omnivores preying on other invertebrates, but the tree and giant weta eat mostly lichens, leaves, flowers, seed-heads and fruit.</font></p>
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<div style="WIDTH: 252px" class="thumbinner"><font color="#000000"><img class="thumbimage" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Defensive_tree_weta.jpg/250px-Defensive_tree_weta.jpg" width="250" height="187" /> </font>
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<font color="#000000">Defensive male Wellington tree weta</font></div>
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<p><font color="#000000">Weta can bite with powerful mandibles. Tree weta bites are painful but not particularly common. Weta can inflict painful scratches, with the potential of infection, but their defence displays consist of looking large and spiky, and they will retreat if given a chance. Tree weta arc their hind legs into the air in warning to foes and then striking downwards so that the spines could scratch the eyes of a predator. Pegs or ridges at the base of the abdomen are struck by a patch of fine pegs at the base (inner surface) of the legs and this action makes a distinctive sound. These actions are also used in defence of a gallery by competing males. The female weta looks as if she has a stinger, but it is an ovipositor, which enables her to lay eggs inside rotting wood<sup id="cite_ref-rudd_0-0" class="reference"><font size="2"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></font></sup> or soil. Some species of Hemiandrus have very short ovipositors, related perhaps to their burrowing into soil and laying their eggs in a special chamber at the end of the burrow.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">New Zealand had no land mammals apart from native bats before humans arrived. Ecological niches that were filled by mammals in other parts of the world were filled by other creatures. 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, they are hunted by an owl, the morepork, New Zealand’s only surviving native owl. Weta 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 may rely on the weta's help.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">The weta's lifestyle and habitat, where it may choose to remain concealed in suburban environments until unexpectedly confronted, combined with its notoriously unfriendly appearance, make it a frequent victim of irrational<sup style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="noprint Template-Fact" title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from August 2009"><font size="2">[<em>citation needed</em>]</font></sup> human aggression.</font></p>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Taxonomy and evolution</font></span></h2>
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<div style="WIDTH: 252px" class="thumbinner"><font color="#000000"><img class="thumbimage" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e6/WetaClimbing.jpg/250px-WetaClimbing.jpg" width="250" height="166" /> </font>
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<font color="#000000">Tree weta climbing</font></div>
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<p><font color="#000000">Fossilized orthoptera have been found in Russia, China, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, but the relationships are very open to different interpretations. Certainly most weta of both families are in the southern hemisphere lands. Some people<sup style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="noprint Inline-Template" title="The material in the vicinity of this tag may use weasel words or too-vague attribution. from January 2009"><font size="2">[<em>who?</em>]</font></sup> 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. Although they are of an ancient lineage the present species are quite young which conflicts with those earlier ideas about dispersal of weta forebears around the southern hemisphere (Wallis et al. 2000).</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Giant, tree, ground, and tusked weta are all members of the family Anostostomatidae (formerly in the Stenopelmatidae, but recently separated (Johns, 1997)). Cave weta are members of the family Rhaphidophoridae called cave crickets or camel crickets elsewhere, in a different Ensiferan superfamily.</font></p>
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<h3><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Giant weta</font></span></h3>
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<font color="#000000">Poor Knights giant weta (<em>Deinacrida fallai</em>) - this specimen has an overall length of 200 mm (8 in)</font></div>
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<p><font color="#000000">There are 11 species of giant weta (<em>Deinacrida</em> spp.), most significantly larger than other weta, which are themselves large by insect standards. They are heavy insects with a body length of up to 100 mm (4 in) not inclusive of its lengthy legs and antennae, and weigh about 20-30 g. A captive giant weta (<em>Deinacrida heteracantha</em>) filled with eggs reached a record 70 g, making it one of the heaviest documented insects in the world <sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><font size="2"><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></font></sup> 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 <em>Deinacrida</em>, which is Greek for <em>terrible grasshopper</em>. They are found primarily on small islands off the coast of the main islands, and are examples of island gigantism.</font></p>
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<h3><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Tree weta</font></span></h3>
<p><font color="#000000"><strong>Tree weta</strong> (<em>Hemideina</em>) are those most commonly encountered in suburban settings in the North Island. They are up to 40 mm long and most commonly live in holes in trees formed by beetle and moth larvae or where rot has set in after a twig has broken off. The hole, called a gallery, is maintained by the weta and any growth of the bark surrounding the opening is chewed away. They readily occupy a preformed gallery in a piece of wood (a weta motel) and can be kept in a suburban garden as pets. A gallery might house a harem of up to ten juveniles of both sexes, females and one male. Tree weta are nocturnal. Their diet consists of plants and small insects. The males, which usually have much larger jaws than the females, hiss and bite when threatened.</font></p>
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<font color="#000000">Female Wellington tree weta</font></div>
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<p><font color="#000000">There are seven species of tree weta:</font></p>
<ul>
<li><font color="#000000">The Auckland tree weta <em>Hemideina thoracica</em> (also called tokoriro) can be found throughout the North Island apart from the Wellington-Wairarapa region. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">The Wellington tree weta <em>H. crassidens</em> occupies Wellington, the Wairarapa, the northern parts of South Island, and the West Coast. </font>
<ul>
<li><font color="#000000"><em>H. crassidens crassicruris</em> was described from Stephens Island but is now recognized as <em>H. crassidens</em>. </font></li>
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</li>
<li><font color="#000000"><em>H. trewicki</em> in Hawke's Bay. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000"><em>H. femorata</em> in Marlborough and Canterbury. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">A rare <em>H. ricta</em> species in Banks Peninsula. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">The West Coast bush weta <em>H. broughi</em> largely overlaps with the Wellington tree weta in Nelson and the northern portion of the West Coast. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000"><em>H. maori</em>, the mountain stone weta, lives in the drier areas of the South Island high country from the Kaikoura Ranges south to Rock and Pillar Range near Dunedin. At most sites it lives on the ground, under stones or in crevices but in at least two island (within lakes) sites which have not been modified greatly it happily lives both in trees and on the ground. </font></li>
</ul>
<p><font color="#000000">Mountain stone weta can survive being frozen for months 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 that prevent ice from forming in their cells. It also has the behaviour of "playing dead", by lying still for a short time on its back with legs splayed and claws exposed and jaws wide open ready to scratch and bite.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">When the territories of species overlap, as with the related species <em>H. femorata</em> and <em>H. ricta</em> on Banks Peninsula, they may interbreed, although offspring are sterile.</font></p>
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<h3><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Tusked weta</font></span></h3>
<p><font color="#000000"><strong>Tusked weta</strong> 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 <em>Hemiandrus monstrosus</em>, now named <em>Anisoura nicobarica</em>; the Middle Island tusked weta <em>Motuweta isolata</em>; and a newly-discovered Raukumara tusked weta, <em>Motuweta riparia</em>. 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 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 programme is establishing new colonies on other islands of the Mercury Island group. The Raukumara was discovered in 1996, in the Raukumara Range near the Bay of Plenty. There are probably more species still to be identified.</font></p>
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<h3><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Ground weta</font></span></h3>
<p><font color="#000000"><strong>Ground weta</strong> are classified in the genus <em>Hemiandrus</em>. There are about 40 species of ground weta in New Zealand and several very similar ones in Australia. There are also very like the Californian <em>Cnemotettix</em> - a similarity perhaps due to their very similar habits and habitat. Most of the <em>Hemiandrus</em> have not been described. They hide in burrows in the ground during the day and those that live in open ground (e.g. <em>H. focalis</em>) conceal the exit hole with a specially made perforated door. During the night ground weta hunt invertebrate prey and eat fruit.</font></p>
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<h3><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Cave weta</font></span></h3>
<p><font color="#000000">The 60 species of <strong>cave weta</strong> have extra-long antennae, and may have long, slender legs, a passive demeanour. Although they have no hearing organs on their front legs like species of <em>Hemideina</em> and <em>Deinacrida</em> some (e.g. <em>Talitropsis</em> spp) are very sensitive to ground vibrations sensed through pads on their feet. Specialised hairs on the cerci and organs on the antennae are also sensitive to low frequency vibrations in the air. Cave weta may be active within the confines of their caves during the daytime, and those individuals close to cave entrances venture outside at night. But most species are forest dwellers and a few are to be found in the high alpine screes living among the broken rock that are covered with snow up to six months of the year. New Zealand species are classified in several genera in Subfamily Macropathinae of family Rhaphidophoridae, and are very distant cousins of the other types of weta.</font></p>
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<p><font color="#000000">Face</font></p>
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<p><font color="#000000">Lower leg (tarsus)with two claws and sensory pads</font></p>
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<p><font color="#000000">Upper leg</font></p>
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<p><font color="#000000">Underside with parasites</font></p>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Conservation</font></span></h2>
<p><font color="#000000">Although the weta had native predators in the form of birds, especially the weka and kiwi, 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.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Some examples of especially endangered species are even tracked by radio beacons.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><font size="2"><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></font></sup></font></p>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Cultural references</font></span></h2>
<ul>
<li><font color="#000000">Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, known for their effects work on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy; his 2005 remake of <em>King Kong</em> features creatures bearing a strong physical resemblance to weta, called Weta-Rexes<sup style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="noprint Template-Fact" title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from January 2009"><font size="2">[<em>citation needed</em>]</font></sup>. In the additional content on the Lord of the Rings DVD Jackson states that he is terrified of weta. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">Weta was the name of a now-disbanded rock group from the late 1990s, early 2000s. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">The Wetas was the name of a now-disbanded rock group, from 1980. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">Weta were occasionally featured in the New Zealand comic strip series Footrot Flats. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">A weta appeared in the fifth episode of the documentary TV series Walking with Dinosaurs and in the third episode of Monsters we met, another documentary TV series, in both cases hunted by tuatara. </font></li>
</ul>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Footnotes</font></span></h2>
<div class="references-small">
<ol class="references">
<li id="cite_note-rudd-0"><font color="#000000"><strong>^</strong> <cite style="FONT-STYLE: normal" id="CITEREFKleinpaste1997" class="book">Kleinpaste, Ruud (1997). <em><span>Scratching for a living</span></em>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Scratching+for+a+living&rft.aulast=Kleinpaste&rft.aufirst=Ruud&rft.au=Kleinpaste%2C+Ruud&rft.date=1997&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Weta"><span style="DISPLAY: none"> </span></span> </font></li>
<li id="cite_note-1"><font color="#000000"><strong>^</strong> <cite style="FONT-STYLE: normal" class="web">"Book of Insect Records"<span class="printonly">. http://ufbir.ifas.ufl.edu/chap30.htm</span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.btitle=Book+of+Insect+Records&rft.atitle=&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fufbir.ifas.ufl.edu%2Fchap30.htm&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Weta"><span style="DISPLAY: none"> </span></span> </font></li>
<li id="cite_note-2"><font color="#000000"><strong>^</strong> <em>Eel's costly snack</em> - <em>The New Zealand Herald</em>, Saturday <span class="mw-formatted-date" title="2009-05-16">16 May 2009</span> </font></li>
</ol>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">References</font></span></h2>
<ul>
<li><font color="#000000"><cite style="FONT-STYLE: normal" id="CITEREFJohns1997">Johns, P. M. (1997). "The Gondwanaland weta: family Anostostomatidae (formerly in Stenopelmatidae, Henicidae or Mimnermidae): nomenclatural problems, world checklist, new genera and species". <em>Journal of Orthoptera Research</em> <strong>6</strong>: 125–138. doi:<span class="neverexpand">10.2307/3503546</span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=The+Gondwanaland+weta%3A+family+Anostostomatidae+%28formerly+in+Stenopelmatidae%2C+Henicidae+or+Mimnermidae%29%3A+nomenclatural+problems%2C+world+checklist%2C+new+genera+and+species&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Orthoptera+Research&rft.aulast=Johns&rft.aufirst=P.+M.&rft.au=Johns%2C+P.+M.&rft.date=1997&rft.volume=6&rft.pages=125%E2%80%93138&rft_id=info:doi/10.2307%2F3503546&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Weta"><span style="DISPLAY: none"> </span></span> </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000"><cite style="FONT-STYLE: normal" id="CITEREFSteve_TrewickMary_Morgan-Richards" class="web">Steve Trewick; Mary Morgan-Richards. "New Zealand Invertebrate Speciation"<span class="printonly">. http://awcmee.massey.ac.nz/nzinsects/index.html</span><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2006-05-08</span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.btitle=New+Zealand+Invertebrate+Speciation&rft.atitle=&rft.aulast=Steve+Trewick&rft.au=Steve+Trewick&rft.au=Mary+Morgan-Richards&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fawcmee.massey.ac.nz%2Fnzinsects%2Findex.html&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Weta"><span style="DISPLAY: none"> </span></span> </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000"><cite style="FONT-STYLE: normal" id="CITEREFGreg_H_Sherley1998" class="web">Greg H Sherley (1998). "Threatened Weta Recovery Plan". Department of Conservation<span class="printonly">. http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/tsrp25.pdf</span><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2007-11-07</span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.btitle=Threatened+Weta+Recovery+Plan&rft.atitle=&rft.aulast=Greg+H+Sherley&rft.au=Greg+H+Sherley&rft.date=1998&rft.pub=Department+of+Conservation&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.doc.govt.nz%2Fupload%2Fdocuments%2Fscience-and-technical%2Ftsrp25.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Weta"><span style="DISPLAY: none"> </span></span> </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000"><cite style="FONT-STYLE: normal" id="CITEREFWallisMorgan-Richards.2C_M..2C_Trewick.2C_S.A2000">Wallis, G. P.; Morgan-Richards, M., Trewick, S.A (2000). "Phylogeographical pattern correlates with Pliocene mountain building in the alpine scree weta (Orthoptera, Anostostomatidae)". <em>Molecular Ecology</em> <strong>9</strong> (6): 657-666.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Phylogeographical+pattern+correlates+with+Pliocene+mountain+building+in+the+alpine+scree+weta+%28Orthoptera%2C+Anostostomatidae%29&rft.jtitle=Molecular+Ecology&rft.aulast=Wallis&rft.aufirst=G.+P.&rft.au=Wallis%2C+G.+P.&rft.au=Morgan-Richards%2C+M.%2C+Trewick%2C+S.A&rft.date=2000&rft.volume=9&rft.issue=6&rft.pages=657-666&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Weta"><span style="DISPLAY: none"> </span></span> </font></li>
</ul>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">External links</font></span></h2>
<ul>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/podcover.aspx?id=33170" href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/podcover.aspx?id=33170" rel="nofollow"><font color="#000080">New Zealand Department of Conservation’s page on weta</font></a> </li>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://johnbokma.com/weta/" href="http://johnbokma.com/weta/" rel="nofollow"><font color="#000080">Weta from New Zealand</font></a> </li>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://weta.boarsnest.net/" href="http://weta.boarsnest.net/" rel="nofollow"><font color="#000080">The Weta of New Zealand</font></a> </li>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biodiversity/invertebratesprog/invertid/order_page.asp?Or_ID=18" href="http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biodiversity/invertebratesprog/invertid/order_page.asp?Or_ID=18" rel="nofollow"><font color="#000080">Bug identification - Orthoptera</font></a> </li>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://www.kcc.org.nz/animals/weta.asp" href="http://www.kcc.org.nz/animals/weta.asp" rel="nofollow"><font color="#000080">Kiwi Conservation Club</font></a> </li>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://web.mac.com/clintkelly1/iWeb/Site/Home.html" href="http://web.mac.com/clintkelly1/iWeb/Site/Home.html" rel="nofollow"><font color="#000080">Sexual selection research on weta</font></a> </li>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/InsectsAndOtherInvertebrates/Weta/en" href="http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/InsectsAndOtherInvertebrates/Weta/en" rel="nofollow"><em><font color="#000080">Wētā</font></em></a> in Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand </li>
</ul>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">General characteristics</font></span></h2>
<p><font color="#000000">Many weta are large by insect standards and some species are among the largest and heaviest in the world. Their physical appearance is like a katydid or long-horned grasshopper or a cricket, but the hind legs are enlarged and usually very spiny. Many are wingless. Because they can cope with variations in temperature, weta are found in a variety of environments including alpine, forests, grasslands, caves, shrub lands and urban gardens. They are nocturnal and all New Zealand species are flightless. Different species have different diets. Most weta are predators or omnivores preying on other invertebrates, but the tree and giant weta eat mostly lichens, leaves, flowers, seed-heads and fruit.</font></p>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="WIDTH: 252px" class="thumbinner"><font color="#000000"><img class="thumbimage" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Defensive_tree_weta.jpg/250px-Defensive_tree_weta.jpg" width="250" height="187" /> </font>
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<div class="magnify"><font color="#000000"><img alt="" src="/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15" height="11" /></font></div>
<font color="#000000">Defensive male Wellington tree weta</font></div>
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</div>
<p><font color="#000000">Weta can bite with powerful mandibles. Tree weta bites are painful but not particularly common. Weta can inflict painful scratches, with the potential of infection, but their defence displays consist of looking large and spiky, and they will retreat if given a chance. Tree weta arc their hind legs into the air in warning to foes and then striking downwards so that the spines could scratch the eyes of a predator. Pegs or ridges at the base of the abdomen are struck by a patch of fine pegs at the base (inner surface) of the legs and this action makes a distinctive sound. These actions are also used in defence of a gallery by competing males. The female weta looks as if she has a stinger, but it is an ovipositor, which enables her to lay eggs inside rotting wood<sup id="cite_ref-rudd_0-0" class="reference"><font size="2"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></font></sup> or soil. Some species of Hemiandrus have very short ovipositors, related perhaps to their burrowing into soil and laying their eggs in a special chamber at the end of the burrow.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">New Zealand had no land mammals apart from native bats before humans arrived. Ecological niches that were filled by mammals in other parts of the world were filled by other creatures. 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, they are hunted by an owl, the morepork, New Zealand’s only surviving native owl. Weta 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 may rely on the weta's help.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">The weta's lifestyle and habitat, where it may choose to remain concealed in suburban environments until unexpectedly confronted, combined with its notoriously unfriendly appearance, make it a frequent victim of irrational<sup style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="noprint Template-Fact" title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from August 2009"><font size="2">[<em>citation needed</em>]</font></sup> human aggression.</font></p>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Taxonomy and evolution</font></span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="WIDTH: 252px" class="thumbinner"><font color="#000000"><img class="thumbimage" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e6/WetaClimbing.jpg/250px-WetaClimbing.jpg" width="250" height="166" /> </font>
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<div class="magnify"><font color="#000000"><img alt="" src="/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15" height="11" /></font></div>
<font color="#000000">Tree weta climbing</font></div>
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<p><font color="#000000">Fossilized orthoptera have been found in Russia, China, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, but the relationships are very open to different interpretations. Certainly most weta of both families are in the southern hemisphere lands. Some people<sup style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="noprint Inline-Template" title="The material in the vicinity of this tag may use weasel words or too-vague attribution. from January 2009"><font size="2">[<em>who?</em>]</font></sup> 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. Although they are of an ancient lineage the present species are quite young which conflicts with those earlier ideas about dispersal of weta forebears around the southern hemisphere (Wallis et al. 2000).</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Giant, tree, ground, and tusked weta are all members of the family Anostostomatidae (formerly in the Stenopelmatidae, but recently separated (Johns, 1997)). Cave weta are members of the family Rhaphidophoridae called cave crickets or camel crickets elsewhere, in a different Ensiferan superfamily.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"></font></p>
<h3><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Giant weta</font></span></h3>
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<div style="WIDTH: 252px" class="thumbinner"><font color="#000000"><img class="thumbimage" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Knights.weta.750pix.jpg/250px-Knights.weta.750pix.jpg" width="250" height="152" /> </font>
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<font color="#000000">Poor Knights giant weta (<em>Deinacrida fallai</em>) - this specimen has an overall length of 200 mm (8 in)</font></div>
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<p><font color="#000000">There are 11 species of giant weta (<em>Deinacrida</em> spp.), most significantly larger than other weta, which are themselves large by insect standards. They are heavy insects with a body length of up to 100 mm (4 in) not inclusive of its lengthy legs and antennae, and weigh about 20-30 g. A captive giant weta (<em>Deinacrida heteracantha</em>) filled with eggs reached a record 70 g, making it one of the heaviest documented insects in the world <sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><font size="2"><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></font></sup> 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 <em>Deinacrida</em>, which is Greek for <em>terrible grasshopper</em>. They are found primarily on small islands off the coast of the main islands, and are examples of island gigantism.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"></font></p>
<h3><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Tree weta</font></span></h3>
<p><font color="#000000"><strong>Tree weta</strong> (<em>Hemideina</em>) are those most commonly encountered in suburban settings in the North Island. They are up to 40 mm long and most commonly live in holes in trees formed by beetle and moth larvae or where rot has set in after a twig has broken off. The hole, called a gallery, is maintained by the weta and any growth of the bark surrounding the opening is chewed away. They readily occupy a preformed gallery in a piece of wood (a weta motel) and can be kept in a suburban garden as pets. A gallery might house a harem of up to ten juveniles of both sexes, females and one male. Tree weta are nocturnal. Their diet consists of plants and small insects. The males, which usually have much larger jaws than the females, hiss and bite when threatened.</font></p>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="WIDTH: 252px" class="thumbinner"><font color="#000000"><img class="thumbimage" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Tree_weta.jpg/250px-Tree_weta.jpg" width="250" height="188" /> </font>
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<div class="magnify"><font color="#000000"><img alt="" src="/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15" height="11" /></font></div>
<font color="#000000">Female Wellington tree weta</font></div>
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<p><font color="#000000">There are seven species of tree weta:</font></p>
<ul>
<li><font color="#000000">The Auckland tree weta <em>Hemideina thoracica</em> (also called tokoriro) can be found throughout the North Island apart from the Wellington-Wairarapa region. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">The Wellington tree weta <em>H. crassidens</em> occupies Wellington, the Wairarapa, the northern parts of South Island, and the West Coast. </font>
<ul>
<li><font color="#000000"><em>H. crassidens crassicruris</em> was described from Stephens Island but is now recognized as <em>H. crassidens</em>. </font></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><font color="#000000"><em>H. trewicki</em> in Hawke's Bay. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000"><em>H. femorata</em> in Marlborough and Canterbury. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">A rare <em>H. ricta</em> species in Banks Peninsula. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">The West Coast bush weta <em>H. broughi</em> largely overlaps with the Wellington tree weta in Nelson and the northern portion of the West Coast. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000"><em>H. maori</em>, the mountain stone weta, lives in the drier areas of the South Island high country from the Kaikoura Ranges south to Rock and Pillar Range near Dunedin. At most sites it lives on the ground, under stones or in crevices but in at least two island (within lakes) sites which have not been modified greatly it happily lives both in trees and on the ground. </font></li>
</ul>
<p><font color="#000000">Mountain stone weta can survive being frozen for months 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 that prevent ice from forming in their cells. It also has the behaviour of "playing dead", by lying still for a short time on its back with legs splayed and claws exposed and jaws wide open ready to scratch and bite.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">When the territories of species overlap, as with the related species <em>H. femorata</em> and <em>H. ricta</em> on Banks Peninsula, they may interbreed, although offspring are sterile.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"></font></p>
<h3><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Tusked weta</font></span></h3>
<p><font color="#000000"><strong>Tusked weta</strong> 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 <em>Hemiandrus monstrosus</em>, now named <em>Anisoura nicobarica</em>; the Middle Island tusked weta <em>Motuweta isolata</em>; and a newly-discovered Raukumara tusked weta, <em>Motuweta riparia</em>. 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 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 programme is establishing new colonies on other islands of the Mercury Island group. The Raukumara was discovered in 1996, in the Raukumara Range near the Bay of Plenty. There are probably more species still to be identified.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"></font></p>
<h3><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Ground weta</font></span></h3>
<p><font color="#000000"><strong>Ground weta</strong> are classified in the genus <em>Hemiandrus</em>. There are about 40 species of ground weta in New Zealand and several very similar ones in Australia. There are also very like the Californian <em>Cnemotettix</em> - a similarity perhaps due to their very similar habits and habitat. Most of the <em>Hemiandrus</em> have not been described. They hide in burrows in the ground during the day and those that live in open ground (e.g. <em>H. focalis</em>) conceal the exit hole with a specially made perforated door. During the night ground weta hunt invertebrate prey and eat fruit.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"></font></p>
<h3><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Cave weta</font></span></h3>
<p><font color="#000000">The 60 species of <strong>cave weta</strong> have extra-long antennae, and may have long, slender legs, a passive demeanour. Although they have no hearing organs on their front legs like species of <em>Hemideina</em> and <em>Deinacrida</em> some (e.g. <em>Talitropsis</em> spp) are very sensitive to ground vibrations sensed through pads on their feet. Specialised hairs on the cerci and organs on the antennae are also sensitive to low frequency vibrations in the air. Cave weta may be active within the confines of their caves during the daytime, and those individuals close to cave entrances venture outside at night. But most species are forest dwellers and a few are to be found in the high alpine screes living among the broken rock that are covered with snow up to six months of the year. New Zealand species are classified in several genera in Subfamily Macropathinae of family Rhaphidophoridae, and are very distant cousins of the other types of weta.</font></p>
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<div style="WIDTH: 120px; MARGIN-LEFT: auto; MARGIN-RIGHT: auto"><font color="#000000"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/46/Weta2.jpg/120px-Weta2.jpg" width="120" height="89" /></font></div>
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<p><font color="#000000">Face</font></p>
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<p><font color="#000000">Lower leg (tarsus)with two claws and sensory pads</font></p>
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<div style="WIDTH: 120px; MARGIN-LEFT: auto; MARGIN-RIGHT: auto"><font color="#000000"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c2/Weta4.jpg/120px-Weta4.jpg" width="120" height="89" /></font></div>
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<p><font color="#000000">Upper leg</font></p>
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<p><font color="#000000">Underside with parasites</font></p>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Conservation</font></span></h2>
<p><font color="#000000">Although the weta had native predators in the form of birds, especially the weka and kiwi, 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.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Some examples of especially endangered species are even tracked by radio beacons.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><font size="2"><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></font></sup></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="2"></font></p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Cultural references</font></span></h2>
<ul>
<li><font color="#000000">Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, known for their effects work on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy; his 2005 remake of <em>King Kong</em> features creatures bearing a strong physical resemblance to weta, called Weta-Rexes<sup style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="noprint Template-Fact" title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from January 2009"><font size="2">[<em>citation needed</em>]</font></sup>. In the additional content on the Lord of the Rings DVD Jackson states that he is terrified of weta. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">Weta was the name of a now-disbanded rock group from the late 1990s, early 2000s. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">The Wetas was the name of a now-disbanded rock group, from 1980. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">Weta were occasionally featured in the New Zealand comic strip series Footrot Flats. </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000">A weta appeared in the fifth episode of the documentary TV series Walking with Dinosaurs and in the third episode of Monsters we met, another documentary TV series, in both cases hunted by tuatara. </font></li>
</ul>
<p><font color="#000000"></font></p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">Footnotes</font></span></h2>
<div class="references-small">
<ol class="references">
<li id="cite_note-rudd-0"><font color="#000000"><strong>^</strong> <cite style="FONT-STYLE: normal" id="CITEREFKleinpaste1997" class="book">Kleinpaste, Ruud (1997). <em><span>Scratching for a living</span></em>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Scratching+for+a+living&rft.aulast=Kleinpaste&rft.aufirst=Ruud&rft.au=Kleinpaste%2C+Ruud&rft.date=1997&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Weta"><span style="DISPLAY: none"> </span></span> </font></li>
<li id="cite_note-1"><font color="#000000"><strong>^</strong> <cite style="FONT-STYLE: normal" class="web">"Book of Insect Records"<span class="printonly">. http://ufbir.ifas.ufl.edu/chap30.htm</span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.btitle=Book+of+Insect+Records&rft.atitle=&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fufbir.ifas.ufl.edu%2Fchap30.htm&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Weta"><span style="DISPLAY: none"> </span></span> </font></li>
<li id="cite_note-2"><font color="#000000"><strong>^</strong> <em>Eel's costly snack</em> - <em>The New Zealand Herald</em>, Saturday <span class="mw-formatted-date" title="2009-05-16">16 May 2009</span> </font></li>
</ol>
</div>
<p><font color="#000000"></font></p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">References</font></span></h2>
<ul>
<li><font color="#000000"><cite style="FONT-STYLE: normal" id="CITEREFJohns1997">Johns, P. M. (1997). "The Gondwanaland weta: family Anostostomatidae (formerly in Stenopelmatidae, Henicidae or Mimnermidae): nomenclatural problems, world checklist, new genera and species". <em>Journal of Orthoptera Research</em> <strong>6</strong>: 125–138. doi:<span class="neverexpand">10.2307/3503546</span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=The+Gondwanaland+weta%3A+family+Anostostomatidae+%28formerly+in+Stenopelmatidae%2C+Henicidae+or+Mimnermidae%29%3A+nomenclatural+problems%2C+world+checklist%2C+new+genera+and+species&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Orthoptera+Research&rft.aulast=Johns&rft.aufirst=P.+M.&rft.au=Johns%2C+P.+M.&rft.date=1997&rft.volume=6&rft.pages=125%E2%80%93138&rft_id=info:doi/10.2307%2F3503546&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Weta"><span style="DISPLAY: none"> </span></span> </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000"><cite style="FONT-STYLE: normal" id="CITEREFSteve_TrewickMary_Morgan-Richards" class="web">Steve Trewick; Mary Morgan-Richards. "New Zealand Invertebrate Speciation"<span class="printonly">. http://awcmee.massey.ac.nz/nzinsects/index.html</span><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2006-05-08</span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.btitle=New+Zealand+Invertebrate+Speciation&rft.atitle=&rft.aulast=Steve+Trewick&rft.au=Steve+Trewick&rft.au=Mary+Morgan-Richards&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fawcmee.massey.ac.nz%2Fnzinsects%2Findex.html&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Weta"><span style="DISPLAY: none"> </span></span> </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000"><cite style="FONT-STYLE: normal" id="CITEREFGreg_H_Sherley1998" class="web">Greg H Sherley (1998). "Threatened Weta Recovery Plan". Department of Conservation<span class="printonly">. http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/tsrp25.pdf</span><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2007-11-07</span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.btitle=Threatened+Weta+Recovery+Plan&rft.atitle=&rft.aulast=Greg+H+Sherley&rft.au=Greg+H+Sherley&rft.date=1998&rft.pub=Department+of+Conservation&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.doc.govt.nz%2Fupload%2Fdocuments%2Fscience-and-technical%2Ftsrp25.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Weta"><span style="DISPLAY: none"> </span></span> </font></li>
<li><font color="#000000"><cite style="FONT-STYLE: normal" id="CITEREFWallisMorgan-Richards.2C_M..2C_Trewick.2C_S.A2000">Wallis, G. P.; Morgan-Richards, M., Trewick, S.A (2000). "Phylogeographical pattern correlates with Pliocene mountain building in the alpine scree weta (Orthoptera, Anostostomatidae)". <em>Molecular Ecology</em> <strong>9</strong> (6): 657-666.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Phylogeographical+pattern+correlates+with+Pliocene+mountain+building+in+the+alpine+scree+weta+%28Orthoptera%2C+Anostostomatidae%29&rft.jtitle=Molecular+Ecology&rft.aulast=Wallis&rft.aufirst=G.+P.&rft.au=Wallis%2C+G.+P.&rft.au=Morgan-Richards%2C+M.%2C+Trewick%2C+S.A&rft.date=2000&rft.volume=9&rft.issue=6&rft.pages=657-666&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Weta"><span style="DISPLAY: none"> </span></span> </font></li>
</ul>
<p><font color="#000000"></font></p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline"><font color="#000000">External links</font></span></h2>
<ul>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/podcover.aspx?id=33170" href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/podcover.aspx?id=33170" rel="nofollow"><font color="#000080">New Zealand Department of Conservation’s page on weta</font></a> </li>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://johnbokma.com/weta/" href="http://johnbokma.com/weta/" rel="nofollow"><font color="#000080">Weta from New Zealand</font></a> </li>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://weta.boarsnest.net/" href="http://weta.boarsnest.net/" rel="nofollow"><font color="#000080">The Weta of New Zealand</font></a> </li>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biodiversity/invertebratesprog/invertid/order_page.asp?Or_ID=18" href="http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biodiversity/invertebratesprog/invertid/order_page.asp?Or_ID=18" rel="nofollow"><font color="#000080">Bug identification - Orthoptera</font></a> </li>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://www.kcc.org.nz/animals/weta.asp" href="http://www.kcc.org.nz/animals/weta.asp" rel="nofollow"><font color="#000080">Kiwi Conservation Club</font></a> </li>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://web.mac.com/clintkelly1/iWeb/Site/Home.html" href="http://web.mac.com/clintkelly1/iWeb/Site/Home.html" rel="nofollow"><font color="#000080">Sexual selection research on weta</font></a> </li>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/InsectsAndOtherInvertebrates/Weta/en" href="http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/InsectsAndOtherInvertebrates/Weta/en" rel="nofollow"><em><font color="#000080">Wētā</font></em></a> in Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand </li>
</ul>
