Rare Giant Wetas Released in to Wild
18 Feb 2008
Around a hundred mouse sized giant weta have been released into the wild at Karori Sanctuary in Wellington.
The Cook Strait giant weta (Deinacrida rugosa), one of the world's heaviest insects, are from Matiu/Somes Island and are part of a project which hopes to establish mainland New Zealand's first viable population of the species since they became extinct here over a century ago.
At around 70mm long, and weighing up to 27g, these mouse-sized insects are for many, the stuff of nightmares. But appearances can be deceiving. Deinacrida rugosa are gentle giants - nocturnal herbivores that are far less aggressive than the smaller tree weta we find in our garages, gardens and gumboots!
"We released our first 100 giant weta last year," said Sanctuary conservation scientist Raewyn Empson.
"They were all adults of breeding age, so the likelihood is that they laid their eggs and died soon after. The young weta are tiny, and almost impossible to find, so it's hard to know how many we have. Transferring more adults will ensure we have a range of different age groups living in the Sanctuary."
Until the adult population stabilises in a year or so, visitors are unlikely to see many giant weta but for the next few months, while the new recruits are breeding, visitors on nocturnal tours may be lucky enough to see these gentle giants.
Some of the weta will be fitted with radio transmitters so Sanctuary staff can monitor their movements. A study done by Sanctuary staff and Landcare Research on last year's recruits, found that on average, male giant weta walked up to 41 metres per night but at least one male weta covered nearly 300m - the equivalent of a human walking about 15km. In reality it was likely to have been even further - the measurements only record the start and finish points, not the route taken.
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