My Information Report About Weta

Weta

Weta have been around for a very long time. They have outlived dinosaurs. Weta are invertebrates which means that they don’t have a backbone.Weta are one of the heaviest insects in the world.

Habitat

Weta are mostly found and live in New Zealand. They are known to only be found in New Zealand but there are also some scattered around the world. People have called them other names. Weta can be found in shrubs, forests and caves. They also live in holes underneath stones, rotting logs or in tree like the tree weta.

Appearance

You can tell the difference between a male and a female weta because the female has a larger ovipositor (which is like a stinger). Weta have their ears on their knees which helps them to feel vibrations of noises around. Their ears aren't like normal ears, they have little holes which are so small that they are hard to see . They have feelers on their bottoms called cerci (sir-key) which help the weta to sense vibrations like the ears.

Species

In the world there are over 70 different species of weta. There are five different types of Weta which are the tree weta, cave weta, giant weta, ground weta and tusked weta. The giant weta is the heaviest insect in the world. It is so heavy it can not jump. They can grow up to eighty two millimeters long. A pregnant female giant weta can weight up to seventy one grams.

Weta are herbivores which means that they eat leaves and plants but weta have been said to have eaten other insects. The word “weta” is from Maori language, where singular and plural are the same.