Wetas

I made a doc about the biggest insect Wetas.

15/5/18

Introduction

Wetas are members of the insect family and they are endemic to New Zealand.They are also the
heaviest insect in New Zealand.

Appearance

They have spiny legs and only have 3 body parts they are: Abdomen,Thorax and Head.Stripes remind
me of a worker bee.Their coloured skin looks like they have a brown exoskeleton.The female weta has
a large stinger at her rear part of her body.

Habitat

Some wetas live in grassland,caves,shrub land and forests.Tree wetas live in trunks of trees and
ground wetas live in burrow.Cave wetas live in multiple places.

Diet

Wetas eat native plants and wetas are usually herbivores.They enjoy fruit, flowers and more.
Carnivore wetas eat small invertebrates.

Lifecycle

Wetas hatch from eggs and are born in spring time.As they grow they moult their exoskeleton at least
10 times.Female wetas have a ovipositor so the can put the eggs in the ground.

Threats

Wetas are afraid of rats,stoats,weasel,ferrets,cats & hedgehogs their known as threats.They are prey
to reptiles, birds & bats.

Interesting facts about Wetas

The giant weta is the world's heaviest reported insect.

The name weta comes from the Maori word wetapunga, or “god of ugly things”.

The giant weta is one of the biggest insects on Earth, easily dwarfing most bugs and even some small rodents

Conclusion

The weta is a special insect  and the Department of Conservation (DOC) has many programmes to
help with their conservation.They are on the way to extinct because we are destroying their homes.
We can help by not making caves crumble ,destroying trees or burying burrows.