This is a piece of writing that we did for our minibeast topic when we were learning about weta. We had to write an information report on this insect.
Report On The Weta
By Porsha
What Is A Weta?
Weta are a native insect to New Zealand. Weta are an invertebrate and they have a skeleton on the outside of their body which is called an exoskeleton. Weta are very interesting critters, people often think they are a cricket from other countries.There are over 70 species of weta but the main 5 are tree weta,tusked weta,ground weta and giant weta. Just like other insects they have a thorax,abdomen and don’t forget they're antenna (feelers). Uwha\female weta have an ovipositor on the back of their abdomen. Most people think they are used to harm other insects but the ovipositor is used to lay eggs that why uwha/females have them. Weta may look weird but they are very dynamic insects.
Where Do Weta Live?
Where a weta lives depends on the weta species, So Tree weta live in any form of wood\trees, sometimes they can even live in your firewood pile. Ground and tusked weta live in burrows in the ground but if they choose to they can climb trees for food. Cave weta can be found in loads of places such as hollow tree trunks, under houses, tunnels and sea coast caves. Giant weta are mostly found in island sanctuaries. If you see a weta in any of these places don't ruin,crush or destroy it, if you can make more habitats for weta to live in.
What do Weta Eat?
Like most insects weta need to feed on something. Most weta are carnivores or herbivores. Ground and Tusked weta are carnivores, They eat snails worms and vertebres. All weta feed at night, except for when people find weta they normally give them a fresh carrot to chomp on. Giant and tree weta are herbivores, they eat a lot of different types of food but these are the main ones Lichens,leaves,flowers,seed heads and fruit. Even though we sometimes eat weta, I’m sure we’re glad that they don't eat us.
How Do Weta Breed?
To keep weta going they need to reproduce so don’t die out. Normally on a spring/summer night weta mate. In autumn the uwha/female weta lays 6-10 eggs at a time and the following spring the babies hatch and grow. Most weta breed at night. In a uwha/female weta lifetime she lays about 300 eggs. As weta grow they shed their skin. Weta have a similar breeding cycle to other insect but there are some differences.
Are Weta Social?
Not all weta species have the same social life. Surprisingly,Tree weta are the most social weta out of them all. Tree weta live in a special group called galleries, galleries can contain heaps of young weta and uwha/female weta but only one male. The only other type of weta that don't live alone are Cave weta. Cave weta live in groups near the sea coast caves but are very lonely critters. Weta communicate and hei/talk to each other by rubbing their legs together to make a chirping sound. Unlike tree and cave weta other species of weta mainly live alone.
What Are The Threats To Weta?
Weta don't have many threats native to new zealand,Weta numbers decreasing because of all these introduced pests and animals.The native Tuatara,Weka and Kiwi eat wekas. The introduced animals like Ngeru/Cats,Hedgehogs and Rats are main predators. Ground weta back into their holes and keep a lookout for predators and be safe. Giant weta are less aggressive and way more bigger so the predators will go for them more often than the other species of weta. To keep out these threats make weta hotels so they have a safer place to live.
Weta’s are very interesting critters and all the different species live a little differently but we need help protect them because they are very important insects.
Some Weta Photos:
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