This is half-pie.

weta pictures

Posted 26. May 2002, 21:20 in by Alan Macdougall, received 2 comments.

The weta is baaaaack! Only now I’ve got a couple pictures for the benefit of any overseas readers I might have.

Picture of a weta with a ruler for scale
Imagine this down your gumboot… or in your bed… or on your head. And this isn’t as big as they get, either.

Female tree weta doing a runner up my hand
It may well be the same female I evicted from the bedroom a few weeks ago. I found her while tidying up at the back of the house this afternoon under a cardboard box. She wasn’t very happy with me and hissed fairly threateningly – which isn’t surprising given that wetas are nocturnal creatures and I’d just destroyed her nice cool dark and dry hiding place.

However, it seems that what I have heard about their temperament is true – they are pretty slow to actually bite. Which is just as well given the sort of jaws they have.




Comments

  1. ben
    23 August 2009, 21:45 #

    hi mate, new to NZ and found my 1st weta yest and again today. was trying to find out what type it is. it looks very similar to the one on your hand only it doesnt have the long tail/spine yours does. can send you a pic if possible. i am in wellington so could it be a wellington tree weta? cheers if you can help me out, think they are amazing!!

  2. Alan
    24 August 2009, 21:27 #

    If it’s about the same size as my one, but without the spine (an ovipositor) it’s likely to be a male Wellington Tree Weta. The males have impressively scary jaws. Like this photo I took last year:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/dubh/3343165781/

    Cave Wetas are also common, but they’re much smaller and look, and are sized, like grasshoppers with exceptionally long antennae.

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