18 Nov 2016

Critter of the Week: The Bluff Weta

From Afternoons, 1:35 pm on 18 November 2016

Bluff weta Deinacrida elegans is one of the three species of giant Weta found in Kaikoura. They are found only in the Kaikoura ranges and on Mt Somers (South Canterbury).

The Bluff Weta

The Bluff Weta Photo: Warren Chinn

Deinacrida are our giant weta. The name means demon grasshoppers. But despite their fierce reputation, these ancient insects live a gentle lifestyle. 

Giant weta have survived for 70 million years, through the rise and fall of dinosaurs and the uplift of the islands that make up NZ, and have through their amazing design, endured and thrived.  Until mammals arrived.

Nicola Toki tells us all about the Bluff Weta.