Giant wetas are species of weta in the genus Deinacrida of the family Anostostomatidae. Giant wetas are endemic to New Zealand.
There are 11 species of giant weta, 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 10 cm (4 in) not inclusive of its lengthy legs and antennae, and weigh more than 71 g (2.5 oz), making it one of the heaviest documented insects in the world and heavier than a sparrow. The largest species of giant weta is the Little Barrier Island giant weta also known as the wetapunga. Giant weta tend to be less social and more passive than other weta. Their genus name, Deinacrida, is Greek for terrible grasshopper. They are found primarily on New Zealand offshore islands, having been almost exterminated on the mainland islands by introduced mammalian pests.
Not all Giant Weta are giant. They are ‘Giant Weta’ by species but not necessarily by size. For example, the Nelson Alpine Weta weighs around 7 grams on average, and the Kaikoura Weta can weigh up to 15 grams. The smaller species of Giant Weta have an advantage over the bigger Giant Weta because they find it easier to hide from predators.
Giant Weta facts:
The largest weta recorded was a female and it weighed around THREE TIMES heavier than a mouse! (71 grams),
The Maori named the Little Barrier Island Giant Weta, ‘Wetapunga’, which means ‘god of ugly things’,
The gentle giant of the insect world, the Giant weta prefers a vegetarian diet,
The Giant weta often lives under rocks and bush floor debris,
The Giant weta is so heavy that it cannot jump,
The weta is sometimes known as the dinosaur of the insect world,
The weta has changed very little in the past 100 MILLION YEARS!,
At around two years old the female will lay 100-300 eggs. The parents will die before the weta eggs hatch 3-5 months later.
Source: KCC
do they bite??
they do not bite and u can eat them.
Yeah, I was wondering if they could be eaten. :P
wow, that’s yummy. are you too yummy? lol
What a fascinating group of creatures, thanks for posting these photos!
They are mentioned as ‘preferring a vegetarian diet’ and the mouthparts of the top specimen (the one held in a bare hand) look to be pretty similar in design to those of grasshoppers, so I’d guess that most species are capable of a slight pinch at worst. That more robust looking fellow with the big mandibles who looks like a tree-bark eater might be capable of drawing blood, though.
These guys put the big bull cockroaches I grew up with in Hawaii to shame!
Can you eat them?
I'm afraid….
they are so big i wanna stomp one but they are so big i'd feel bad about stomping one
[...] giants of this group (genus Deinacrida) encompass the heaviest insect in the world and would probably have filled the role of the rat, now that the rats have arrived [...]
“they do not bite and u can eat them.”
Actually they may bite (generally a grumpy male) but not poisonous so it just will hurt. Easy to tell females from males as females have the ovipositor sticking out though. If you leave them alone, they won’t bother you and they may accept being touched or handled like in the images if you are gentle. Never heard of anyone eating them….on the other hand I have heard of people eating huhu grubs. No for me!
Here in NZ we’d never stomp them. All you have to do if you find one in the house is scoop it up and pop it outside on a likely tree. They’ll wander off and do their own thing. They are very cool as NZ had no land mammals apart from a native bat prior to human arrival and introduced species so they took the ecological role of creatures like mice.
Thanks for the info, Mitch. As a resident of Louisville, Kentucky, I cannot imagine an insect this large as an indigenous species. In the photograph of the one dining on the carrot, she is so large that she looks like Jiminy (Jemima?) Cricket!
They are SO CUTE! Would love to hand feed one.
I take it the males don’t chirp? That would be so cool!!!
F**k that thing
… and another enlightened individual leaves his mark in the annals of society… Your family must be so proud.
WoW, you are so enlightened Gina !! You must be the bug whisperer !! People with no friends usually think they are haha. They turn to bugs and cats for companionship because noone else can stand them. Too bad even the bugs and cats probably think you’re a moron too !! Just because someone may not like the looks of an insect doesn’t mean he can’t still respect it. It doesn’t mean he has an uncontrollable urge to immediately kill it LoL. Another high and mighty retard with a need to feel special to compensate for the fact that your anything but special. You have most likely never accomplished anything significant in your life. Your parents must be so proud.
Hey Scoop. could you speak up a bit? I couldn’t hear what you were babbling, what with your head stuck so far up your a$$ and all.
Noone is not a word. I believe you mean “no one”.
So before you attack someone for their opinion, make sure you dot your “i’s” and cross your “t’s”
And really? “Retard”? What are you, 5? Someone is awfully defensive, what are you compensating for I wonder?
It is sad to read all the uneducated people who do not respect the beautiful art of nature. This is an amazing creature and “stomping” on it will not get rid of your insecurities, it will just enforce the fact that you an inferior creature.
Stfu…..
so cute….I want one!!!
That’s cool stuff. Looks like a BIG version of the Jerusalem Crickets in California – which is the largest insect I’ve personally seen.
I’m simultaneously fascinated and terrified. :) :O :(
Nightmare fuel!
This article was more edifying than another I read where the only reference to the bugs’ weight was that it was equivalent to “three mice”. Of course, everyone knows the major methods of determining weight are Standard, Metric and Rodent.
In any case, I now know the following: “Giant Weta = three mice = 2.5 oz = 71g”.
All hail the Giant Weta!
Great comment; i laughed out loud! The “three mice” weight, which not being a “common” means of measure, is helpful to those of us who have actually held a mouse and don’t use the metric system. : )
Well I will be 40 years old in January and you can always learn about something new. Wierd but cool looking bug and I am sure it serves an important purpose and that is why it is here.
I cannot fathom seeing one of those in my everyday life, it would make me die of heart failure on the spot! :)
Respect
How about the Desert spider being the biggest insect on planet!!!
Spiders aren’t insects, they are arachnids.
I actually came across a weta on school camp. It was lying dead at the bottom of a swimming pool, and was about the size of your middle finger. Fascinating!
How long do they live? And how do they get that big?
Any relation to grasshoppers or locust?
I’m glad I know about these guys. If I was in NZ, I would really freak out if I saw one (for the first time), and I would probably scream like a little girl while kicking it from away from me. Now I know if I just leave it alone, it will leave me alone. :)
respect xo
Haha enough about families and stomping faggots and rejects
This big bug is pretty badass I must say, I have to agree with the comments above I’d love to hand feed one, they look like they’d be a lot of fun with, maybe convert it to taste blood and feed it pinky mice or something haha
what the heck is that?!?
they some kinda food for me…
i think :P
have fun trying to squish that bug! O.O
That’s one cool bug. I’d also love to handle one. It looks funny and noble. Idk why someone would want to make him “taste blood” lol. Scary basement dwellers are everywhere nowadays, I’d rather have more of this critters around than them. :D
EWWW im gonna have nightmares,that thing is huge!!
Do you think that this is a kind of weta? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJVuDX-wTSM