Giant weta

Recently I had the good fortune to be able to help a scientist friend studying Buller’s shearwaters on the Poor Knights Islands. The Poor Knights are home to birds, reptiles and insects found nowhere else, and one of the endemics I was eager to see was the Poor Knights giant weta (Deinacrida fallai). An adult female Poor Knights giant weta is a massive beast, and I was thrilled to see a couple of them (and a tiny juvenile male too). Although the record for largest giant weta goes to the wetapunga (Deinacrida heteracantha) of Little Barrier island, you would be hard pressed to separate these two species by size.

Poor Knights giant weta
A huge female Poor Knights giant weta (Deinacrida fallai). Like other giant weta, behind her intimidating appearance is a harmless herbivore. Taken with a Canon 1D Mark IV, EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, 1/125 s at f13, ISO 100.

Posting photos of Poor Knights giant weta to my gallery prompted me to hurry up and sort my wetapunga/Little Barrier Island giant weta photos too, so you’ll now find those in the gallery too.

Little Barrier Island giant weta
An adult wetapunga/Little Barrier Island giant weta (Deinacrida heteracantha) emerging shortly after dark from its daytime retreat deep in the base of an epiphytic plant. Taken with a Canon 1D Mark IV, EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, 1/300 s at f11, ISO 100.
Little Barrier Island giant weta
This female wetapunga/Little Barrier Island giant weta was found at night after light rain laying eggs (ovipositing) in a clump of moss. Taken with a Canon 1D Mark IV, EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, 1/250 s at f11, ISO 160.

The first giant weta I saw was over 11 years ago, and completely unexpected. On a weekend tramp in Kahurangi National Park I went for a quick walk above the treeline before crawling into my sleeping bag in the tussock and came across several beautiful Mount Arthur giant weta (Deinacrida tibiospina). In stark contrast to their North Island forest-dwelling cousins, these alpine specialists live in among rocks and tussock, and spend winters buried under snow. The juveniles are especially attractive with their dark, gold-striped suits.

Mount Arthur Island giant weta
An adult male Mt Arthur giant weta in it’s natural environment of bare scree high above the treeline. Taken with a Canon 20D, EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, 1/250 s at f13, ISO 100.