Curious wetas move into 5-star hotel
08 Oct 2008
A family of New Zealand’s more curious insects has moved into an Auckland luxury hotel.
The family of Auckland tree weta - a rather ferocious-looking insect that likes to chew on decaying wood - is now living it up in style in a recent addition to The Langham hotel, the world’s first 'wetarium'.
Located outside the hotel in a native New Zealand plant sanctuary, the new weta habitat is a glass enclosure that allows hotel guests and visitors to peek into the lives of these nocturnal creatures that are usually found in grasslands, bush or caves.
Long-term residency
The residency, for up to four male and 10 female weta at a time, will be long term, according to the hotel's environmental supervisor Nicholas Blake.
"Weta predate the dinosaur and are an incredibly unique, indigenous insect to New Zealand," he said. "By creating this habitat we wanted to educate guests and visitors to the hotel on the importance of the weta and the vital role they play in New Zealand's eco-system."
People might feel nervous when they saw the weta's fierce looking body armour but, Mr Blake said it was "truly remarkable and deserved to be recognised and valued - not feared or trampled on".
The Bugman
According to the project's environmental adviser, Ruud Kleinpaste - aka 'The Bugman' - there are at least 90 species of weta in New Zealand. About 16 species are known to be at risk.
"While weta are clearly tenacious to have survived so long in the evolutionary process, they do need to be protected and their special attributes celebrated. Showcasing our wetas helps us to tell the story of the value of our native biodiversity," said Kleinpaste.
He was sure that overseas guests would be intrigued by this iconic New Zealand insect.
But, as weta domestic affairs can be rather complicated with one male often maintaining a harem of females as well as his own young, there may occasions when the hotel 'do not disturb' sign is called for.
Environmental programme
The project, part of The Langham's 'Guests of the Earth' environmental programme, is just one of several steps the hotel is taking to demonstrate its commitment to the local environment and sustainable tourism.
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