Mahoenui Weta, thought extinct

Stunning images of New Zealand http://www.nhc.net.nz/

New Zealand home of "The Lord of the Rings" was the last large landmass to be discovered as seen in the Pure New Zealand video. Resultant of developing in isolation we have thousands of unique species. GB has only two as a comparison. 11% of the world's endangered species are from New Zealand.

Weta are nocturnal and live in a variety of habitats including grassland, shrub land, forests, and caves. They excavate holes under stones, rotting logs, or in trees and sometimes occupy pre-formed burrows.

Many of the giant species now only survive on protected land and many are endangered. The Giant Weta is the heaviest insect on earth reliably weighed at 72g.

The Mahoenui giant weta, long considered extinct on the mainland, was rediscovered in a patch of King Country gorse in 1962. Department of Conservation staff have established a new population of these on Mahurangi Island, off the Coromandel coast. Two hundred have been transferred there and after four years they are showing signs of breeding.

Weta are mainly herbivorous in the wild, but are also known to eat insects.

There are more than 70 species of weta in New Zealand, 16 of which are at risk. They are one of the oldest species with fossils dating back to the Triassic period.

Music is by New Zealand artists Pitch Black who produce for sony playstation and Miami CSI.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

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• Weta
• insect
• lord
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• Zealand
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• Pitch
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[amazing187thug]

good, i hope they do go extinct!

[clickthisway]

@amazing187thug - scientists calculate that if the current trends continue humans will be extinct before the century's end. The weta will probably survive.

[nor888vast695]

@amazing187thug Every creature we see & the ones we don't are part of the ecology puzzle. Take out a piece of the puzzle, destroy it, & there is no creature in that ecological niche. It may take 1000s or millions of years to fill that niche again. That's why every creature is important. You may know that there has been a collapse of honey bees in N.America. They are crucial to any kind of farm or orchard. They must pollinate flowers so fruit can form. Every creature has a job to do and important

[clickthisway]

@nor888vast695 Yip even without the billions of bacteria you cant even see. Without them nothing would rot to have their nutrient recycled. We'd be up to our eyeballs in dead matter without bacteria.

[nickysng]

Looks like an ant had sex with a spider

[clickthisway]

Insects pollinate 80% of food crops. No insects no food. No food no economy. No money at the moment as the system is a boom to bust system. To avoid bust parts of the cycle we need pepetual growth to avoid depression. Perpetual growth in a finite environment can not be sustained is my current view. Everything you see comes from Earth - and to the earth it will return.

[Kevooi]

@TheEvilGenius600

Up to 8 inches. Beautiful creatures, IMO.

I'd so have one for a pet!

[Aikan009Kurenai]

@clickthisway That's better for the planet, imho. And it'll be our fault, really. Killing ourselves off. And we're the most "intelligent" species. Pffft...

[Socksthevilkitten]

@nor888vast695 Except flys.............ooooh wait. spiders eat flys...

[dpander83]

Were these things like locust of some kind?

[donbrashsux]

looks alot  like our prime minister

[trophiwife1]

There are quite a few types of weta, Ive seen many in NZ and a couple near Canberra ACT :>

[grengerx]

@clickthisway And all that came about by chance violating the entropy law.

[jordan69809]

The thing i love about New Zealand is how safe you a from cretures. Its one the few places on earth without any venomous snakes and spiders

[tacaloking4]

wey was it considerd exstict what happen that pretty much killed these bugs off

[dragoon414]

@nor888vast695 not all creatures have a job, but yes i agree 90% with you, but you have to admit....some creatures are nothing more than a curse from god, such as mosquitos. And the earth hasnt even been around millions of years...modern carbon dating on diamonds can prove the earth is less than 15,000 years old.