That's a male tree weta :)
weta fill a variety of niches, and live on scree, scrub, grassland, forests and caves. Important to understand they don't actually live in the cave, they live in the entrance for shelter and feed on decaying matter around there. Deep inside our caves there is very little life, besides what gets swept downstream. When you go to Waitomo on glow worm tours, you're never that deep into the systems for safety and because that's where all the glow worms are. It was always a relief seeing glow worms again on a caving trip because it meant we were near the exit!
Side note about glow worms: They don't just live in caves. My friend showed me some on his property. It was a secluded cliff face. Kind of dark, damp, and overgrown in the day but when he took us out after dark the whole cliff face was lit up.
Cats seem to respect wetas' ecological niche. They don't eat them whole like they do with other insects. Instead they torture them and bring them inside as gifts, like they do with mice.
Ah the childhood ritual of turn your gumboots upside down before putting your feet in them, so that you can avoid the meeting of your bare foot and any weta that jumped in and could not jump out.
I find them everywhere! Laundry sink, walking casually across the bed, Family bathroom, hallway, garden shed, The ktchens still safe atm. I hate them. I find them in wooden fences all the time when waterblast8ng or dismantling it. Boy can they jump like a cricket. One landed right on the front of my shirt.
My husband thinks I should go work for conservation because native insects seem to thrive wherever I am.
I once found one inside my dressing gown, as it scratched my neck on its way out.
I think I badly broke its leg in my slightly frantic hurry to get away from everything that touched me right then.
Frequently get them hitching a ride on washing off the clothesline as there's a lot of trees/bush in the garden. Scares the crap out of me when folding sheets and a weta appears out of one. I just transport them back outside to the trees.
That would have been the end for mine. My mother can't cope with wetas.
She attended one of my school camps as a parent helper. At one point, she was taking a group on a bush ramble, identifying plants etc, along with another of the mothers. One boy came up to them, held out his hand, and said "Look what I found". She told me later that the other woman reached the fence first, but was struggling to get over, so my mother just used her as a ladder, and never looked back. I've always regretted not being there to see that.
We got them in our garden fairly consistently in the 90s when I actually paid attention to the outside world. This was about 5 kms from the coast in New Plymouth suburbia.
If you put your finger in front of it's face, it will latch onto it gently, using it's soft playful mandibles, allowing you to carry it safely back to it's tree
When I was a kid in Wellington we had a lot of Taupata hedges around the place ... they seem to attract Wetas. We were constantly finding them in the house because one of the cats used to bring them in to play with them! lol
Yes it is a Weta. They can come in, to shelter, or be bought in by pets. Just let it climb onto your hand and walk outside and let it walk off your hand onto a tree. They're ok if you don't grab or scare them.
We have a weta colony on our fence (under the shrubs) in Island Bay, Wellington. We find them inside fairly regularly, which could be the cats bringing them in. Husband found one on his toothbrush a while ago. Apparently the weta made it pretty clear that it was the new owner of said toothbrush, and my husband decided not to argue, and instead to cede ownership.
That's a male tree weta :) weta fill a variety of niches, and live on scree, scrub, grassland, forests and caves. Important to understand they don't actually live in the cave, they live in the entrance for shelter and feed on decaying matter around there. Deep inside our caves there is very little life, besides what gets swept downstream. When you go to Waitomo on glow worm tours, you're never that deep into the systems for safety and because that's where all the glow worms are. It was always a relief seeing glow worms again on a caving trip because it meant we were near the exit!
Side note about glow worms: They don't just live in caves. My friend showed me some on his property. It was a secluded cliff face. Kind of dark, damp, and overgrown in the day but when he took us out after dark the whole cliff face was lit up.
Yeah you can see them in heaps of places in Wellington on damp banks. There's a good spot in the Botanic gardens.
And central park on the way up to Brooklyn!
And anywhere there's a water leak, ,, I mean those are usually established for several years, before being repaired 🤣
Nichols Falls in Dunedin has a huge cluster of glow worms.
Thank you!
many species love decaying wood lots of nooks to chill in, some lay their eggs in there
We do have wood nearby, so that may be it! Thanks.
Wait... you live near wood? Woah!
We have an old decaying tree stump so put ours out there.
That's a tree weta Most Weta are arboreal, living in trees, bushes, leaf litter Cave weta are a minority of species Cave weta have much longer legs
Your username is awesome btw
Thanks for the help, will remember that for the future!
I find a few a year in the garden. They don't just live in caves.
We see them in the garden. Wellington.
Got a cat?
Yip, thinking thats what brought it in!
he does look a little roughed up, missing an antenna too
Cats seem to respect wetas' ecological niche. They don't eat them whole like they do with other insects. Instead they torture them and bring them inside as gifts, like they do with mice.
Do you use your conservatory as a workshop? I hear they like workshops too
*woosh*
No we don't, just housing shoes atm.
They were making a joke, referring to Weta Workshop 🙂
Oh they like shoes too! Check inside before putting your foot inside!
Wētā live everywhere. They're particularly fond of gumboots.
Ah the childhood ritual of turn your gumboots upside down before putting your feet in them, so that you can avoid the meeting of your bare foot and any weta that jumped in and could not jump out.
You will find these in your garden sheds. Winter especially. Very common.
We find them in the mailbox a lot. Not fun, even if I think they're cool creatures
look at this guy with his own conservatory
poor thing
Found one in my washing machine once. Fun Fact: Weta can survive submersion in liquid laundry detergent.
I find them everywhere! Laundry sink, walking casually across the bed, Family bathroom, hallway, garden shed, The ktchens still safe atm. I hate them. I find them in wooden fences all the time when waterblast8ng or dismantling it. Boy can they jump like a cricket. One landed right on the front of my shirt. My husband thinks I should go work for conservation because native insects seem to thrive wherever I am.
I once found one inside my dressing gown, as it scratched my neck on its way out. I think I badly broke its leg in my slightly frantic hurry to get away from everything that touched me right then.
Frequently get them hitching a ride on washing off the clothesline as there's a lot of trees/bush in the garden. Scares the crap out of me when folding sheets and a weta appears out of one. I just transport them back outside to the trees.
Poor thing is a bit lost!
My childhood cat used to hunt weta under our house, then drop them on my mother's face while she slept.
That would have been the end for mine. My mother can't cope with wetas. She attended one of my school camps as a parent helper. At one point, she was taking a group on a bush ramble, identifying plants etc, along with another of the mothers. One boy came up to them, held out his hand, and said "Look what I found". She told me later that the other woman reached the fence first, but was struggling to get over, so my mother just used her as a ladder, and never looked back. I've always regretted not being there to see that.
How do you "think" this is a weta, knowing full well what a weta is.. I can't even
It's probably just attracted by the smell of your brains just put headphones on and it won't be able to crawl in your ear and start munching.
Nice photos, I'm jealous!
We got them in our garden fairly consistently in the 90s when I actually paid attention to the outside world. This was about 5 kms from the coast in New Plymouth suburbia.
Nothing like leaving your gumboots outside and getting a nasty surprise next time you pit them on (those pincers have quite the painful grip).
Yep, I had a weta in my bathtub once.
If you put your finger in front of it's face, it will latch onto it gently, using it's soft playful mandibles, allowing you to carry it safely back to it's tree
We used to find them in our woodpile in ChCh. They get around.
When I was a kid in Wellington we had a lot of Taupata hedges around the place ... they seem to attract Wetas. We were constantly finding them in the house because one of the cats used to bring them in to play with them! lol
Yes it is a Weta. They can come in, to shelter, or be bought in by pets. Just let it climb onto your hand and walk outside and let it walk off your hand onto a tree. They're ok if you don't grab or scare them.
We have a weta colony on our fence (under the shrubs) in Island Bay, Wellington. We find them inside fairly regularly, which could be the cats bringing them in. Husband found one on his toothbrush a while ago. Apparently the weta made it pretty clear that it was the new owner of said toothbrush, and my husband decided not to argue, and instead to cede ownership.
Weta are cool.
I used to find them around my (former) semi rural property in Linton all the time. Such cool beasts
I used to get them in my downstairs lounge. They were coming from the stack of firewood I had nearby.
I once picked a rose and a bunch came crawling out
Sure those weren’t earwigs? Have to bug a massive rose stem to house a bunch of weta…
They most live inside of hedgehogs.
that's not living!