Creepy Crawlies
New Zealand has only one type of land mammal (our native bats), so our insects took the place of small mammals like rats. They grew super-sized. We have the largest weta, the largest carnivorous snail and a giant earthworm that is over a metre long! Meet the giants of the insect world. There are five different types of weta – tree weta, cave weta, giant weta, tusked weta and ground weta. All together there are over 100 different species of weta.
Cave Weta
There are 60 species of Cave Weta
- They are mostly found in caves, which is a good place to hide from predators like rats, but they can also be found in other dark places such as under houses and logs.
- Cave weta have big back legs and can jump up to two metres!
- The cave weta has very long antennae and legs. It uses it’s antennae to feel around in the dark.
- The cave weta can live up to seven years.
Ground Weta
There are 36 species of Ground Weta
- The Ground weta cannot hear you coming because it does not have ears on its front legs, like other weta.
- It is the smallest weta and lives in tunnels in the ground.
- Like the Tusked weta, the Ground weta is mainly carnivorous.
- The Ground weta looks a lot like the Tree weta but is smaller.
- It does not have spiky back legs like the Tree weta.