Wētā
Wētā (also spelled weta) is the common name for a group of about 70 insect species in the families Anostostomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae. They are found in New Zealand.[1] They are giant flightless crickets, and some are among the heaviest insects in the world.[2] Wētā are preyed on by introduced mammals, and some species are now critically endangered.
Wētā Media
Male tree wētā Hemideina thoracica
Cook Strait giant wētā (Deinacrida rugosa)
Male Hemideina crassidens (Wellington tree wētā)
Harem of 5 adult females and one male Wellington tree wētā (Hemideina crassidens)
An Auckland tree weta.
Motuweta isolata, Mercury Islands tusked wētā
A male ground wētā, Hemiandrus pallitarsis
weta 2 - photo taken and uploaded by Paul Moss, Photographer, Artist, Paul Moss Photographer Artist NZ
Lower leg (tarsus) with two claws and sensory pads
weta 4 - photo taken and uploaded by Paul Moss, Photographer, Artist, Paul Moss Photographer Artist NZ
References
- ↑ Phoenix Group Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics (31 January 2020). "WētāGeta". Massey University. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- ↑ Trewick, Steve; Morgan-Richards, Mary (2014). NZ wild life : introducing the weird and wonderful character of natural New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand: Penguin. ISBN 9780143568896. OCLC 881301862.
