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Cook Strait Giant Weta on Somes Island

submitted by mintbbb

1 decade 2 years 5 months ago

Large species of Giant Weta can be up to 10 cm (4 in) not inclusive of legs and antennae with body mass usually no more than 35g. One captive female reached a mass of about 70 g (2.5 oz), making it one of the heaviest documented insects in the world and heavier than a sparrow. (WikiPedia)

YouTube Description:

Atalie with a Cook Strait Giant Weta on Somes Island. We found quite a few as we walked around the island. We also saw tuatara and a little blue penguin.

We aren't really bug lovers as such. We can't really explain why the we enjoyed handling them so much. There is something truely magnificient about the giant weta and these encounters left quite an impression on us. Their common tree weta cousins do not have the same appeal. Giant weta are big, slow, docile and harmless. Tree wetas are small, fast, jumpy and bite.It had been raining earlier in the day which we believe contributed to so many giant weta and tuatara coming onto the path. It was quite a cold and windy night (hence Atalie having a shirt tied around her head). Speaking of wetas, this island is only about 8km (5 miles) from Weta Digital and Weta Workshop, the special effect companies behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy.