Seen my first Weta

[hatter5]

They are actually very repulsive and the photo's I've seen posted around do not do them any justice!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weta

They look very vicious looking and had it not been in the process of being poisoned I'd have needed a change of undergarments and possibly socks.

We have had some whitetails around and the pest exterminator guy had finished dispensing the poison outside and warned that anything in its path would leave the area.

When I first saw the weta I thought is was a well hard NZ variety of cockroach? A common mistake I've since been told.

Be afraid

[Lou]

I've seen a few weta now and have to say I find them quite facinating - almost prehistoric. I have heard that if they are in your gum boots when you put them on they may give you a small bite to protect themselves but it isn't venomous. Also, they won't harm people just for the sake of it and prefer to find somewhere dark and damp to live! :)

Karori wildlife sanctuary in Wellington have weta hotels - a tree stump with a hole cut in the back and a viewing window at the front covered by a kind of hinged door. If you open the door there can be 30 or more weta's squirming about. If you like creepy crawlies it's great. I certainly would prefer to see them than the cockroaches which come into the house >:( and my 2 year old LOVES them ;D

Louise

[MotherBear]

Hatter. Glad you survived your first weta. I quite like them, as they don't appear to attack or harm humans, but I wouldn't like to be surprised by one as, at first glance, they are quite horrendous. I also appreciate their size because it's more difficult for them to creep up on me like smaller beasties e.g. the whitetail.

Here's a previous post containing an article about the ?helpful? but harmless weta . This is from the previous page showing a http://movetonz.org/discussion/YaBB.pl?num=1101515026/45] weta [/url] that emerged to say ?Goodbye? to us as we were about to depart NZ after our last visit. There are several kinds that look quite different so I didn?t immediately recognise it as a weta.

[LilAmy]

If you're not keen on Weta's dont go caving.

We went to Waitomo Caves and saw 100's and none of this small variety either!

[MotherBear]

Oh goodie! That should be interesting. ?

Giant wetas return to mainland for first time in 100 years
Friday February 09, 2007

Up to 100 rare Cook Strait giant weta are to be released into the wild on mainland New Zealand for the first time in over 100 years.

They are to be freed at Wellington's Karori Wildlife Sanctuary on Sunday.

It will be the first attempt to re-establish the species on the mainland since they became extinct here over a century ago, said Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust chief executive Nancy McIntosh-Ward.

At around 70mm long, and weighing up to 27gm, the mouse-sized insects ? ?are among the world's heaviest and, for many, the stuff of nightmares [smiley=Yes.gif].

They are, however, far less ferocious than the smaller tree weta we found in garages, gardens and gumboots.

More here .

[LilAmy]

I am so glad we dont live near Karori now. The Weta's are not my favourite bugs here...

[Debd]

Uhhh that's just made my toes curl MotherBear!! :-[

[MotherBear]

Uhhh that's just made my toes curl MotherBear!! ?:-[

That"s OK, Deb, curly toes are 'in' this season, didn't you know?

[Glenda]

They are, however, far less ferocious than the smaller tree weta we found in garages, gardens and gumboots.

Er ... giant wetas are bad enough, but what is this about ferocious tree wetas? How ferocious do they get? Should I keep our gumboots in the garage? [smiley=icon_eek.gif]

In all the years I have lived in NZ, recent past and distant, I have never come across a scary weta. I know they must be there because the neighbour's cat left half a one on our deck. Beginning to feel deprived.
[smiley=icon_lol.gif]

[MotherBear]

For you forum oldies, remember this thread ? ?A nice few photos of tree wetas so we're all aware of what's heading our way? ?Stand clear and let him through! ? :D

Wonder if I'll see any when we visit again in a few weeks. ?Hope so, as long as they don't creep up on me unexpectedly. ?