Mahoenui Giant Weta. Te Kuiti. New Zealand.
S 38° 19.882 E 175° 09.674
60H E 339283 N 5755817
This sculpture of the giant Weta is located beside Rora Street in the Te Kuiti shopping area.
Waymark Code: WM3N2V
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 04/22/2008
Views: 104
The Sculpture of the Mahoenui Giant Weta are a feature of the main Street (opposite the Warehouse) The habitat of these Giant wetas in among scrub on a farm at Mahoenui a few miles South of Piopio on SH3
The Giant Weta is the second largest insect in the world It's Maori name is Wetapunga or the god of ugly things. The Mahoenui subspecies (commemorated in this sculpture) was thought to be extinct until a small colony was found in a patch of gorse outside Te Kuiti in the King Country in 1962. The insect grows to a length of length of 8 cm and a weight of 70 grams (almost 3 oz.).
The Giant Weta is the world’s largest insect, but unfortunately also one of the most endangered species in the world. They only live in one 180ha area of gorse near here – the only legally protected gorse in New Zealand. Everywhere else the introduced gorse is an agricultural pest. Giant weta are closely related to grasshoppers and crickets and are the peaceful giants of the insect world. They are nocturnal, eating mainly plant matter and the occasional insects and they DO NOT bite.
Type of insect: Mahoenui Giant Weta
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