Wetas

[Scorpiove]

Apparently they are blamed for killing many types of mammals.

http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/misc/weta.html

 

[Steven]

Deinacrida, the true giant wetas, are not offered in the legal pet trade, which, at the moment, is a good thing considering they are endangered.

Alex S.

fully agree !!!


the ones sometimes offered are the (correct me if i'm wrong)
"Wellington Tree weta's",.... not the true Giants,... but intresting nevertheless

 

[Scythemantis]

It seems there's two species bred in captivity for hobbyists, Hemideina thoracica and the H. crassidens...they look fairly large to me, how big DO they get?

 

[Alex S.]

Yes, I believe Hemideina crassidens is commonly known as the Wellington tree weta and H. thoracica as the Auckland tree weta. They are not giants like Deinacrida, but awesome orthopterans nonetheless.

Alex S.

 

[dangerprone69]

Apparently they are blamed for killing many types of mammals.

http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/misc/weta.html

Interesting. I had read elsewhere that the introduction of non-native species such as cats and rats led to the rapid disappearance of wetas in the wild and their subsequent protection by the Kiwi government.

 

[Alex S.]

Almost that antire article is completely false and ignorant. Wetas are not venomous nor do they pose any threat to mammals of any size. They are herbivorous insects that will occasionally prey on other small insects. The endangerment of wetas is due to the introduction of predacious mammals to their native islands.

Alex S.

 

[Scythemantis]

Almost that antire article is completely false and ignorant. Wetas are not venomous nor do they pose any threat to mammals of any size. They are herbivorous insects that will occasionally prey on other small insects. The endangerment of wetas is due to the introduction of predacious mammals to their native islands.

Alex S.

The article is describing what others have believed in the past, it doesn't say they are venomous or dangerous.

 

[Wade]

I'm pretty sure that article is humerously intended, or else just a hoax. The author notes that he's pretty sure they don't actually kill sheep and "probably couldn't take down anything bigger than a small rabbit". That's a funny bit, IMO, but not something to take seriously.

Check out the simmilar site about our own weta relative, the Jerusalem cricket (aka "potato bug"). Really funny : www.potatobugs.com

Wade

 

[Alex S.]

I wasn’t taking the article seriously, simply stating that it was false and very misleading.

Alex S.

 

[Alex S.]

I wasn’t taking the article seriously, simply stating that it was false and very misleading.

Alex S.

 

[Alex S.]

I wasn’t taking the article seriously, simply stating that it was false and very misleading.

Alex S.

 

[Alex S.]

I wasn’t taking the article seriously, simply stating that it was false and very misleading.

Alex S.

 

[Alex S.]

I wasn’t taking the article seriously, simply stating that it was false and very misleading.

Alex S.

 

[Alex S.]

The article is describing what others have believed in the past, it doesn't say they are venomous or dangerous.

Here is a quote from the article:

"The only real danger is presented by the females during the mating season, who are venomous over a period of a few months, with the venom causing partial paralysis of the affected limb which usually wears off in a few days."

 

[Alex S.]

Sorry about all the extra posts. Im not sure why that happened. Please delete them. Thank you.

 

[Tony]

Would this be a weta, or just something similar.
Pic taken by me in Peru, that is Dr Sherberger's head btw. He sexes molts for the ATS
Tony

 

[Alex S.]

Hi Tony,

I believe that is actually Panoploscelis specularis, commonly known as the spiny lobster katydid (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae), which reaches great size in it’s own right and is native to the neotropics. Awesome katydid.

Alex S.