Who needs nasties like snakes when you get to step on these inside your gumboots..... :yeleyes: I found one of these mothers attached to the end of my sock yesterday.... I nearly had a heart attack! fyi - this one was about 5omm long and VERY angry! It went for me when I tried to get it off and into a nearby tree. They can give a nasty bite, my son had his big toe repeatedly slashed by one that wouldn't let go. Took weeks to heal. The Maori name of weta translates into "the God of all ugly things" - just thought you'd all like to know that! They are ugly and look fearsome but apparently are endanged because most ppl freak out when they find one. I had one in my hair once, it was a bit tricky getting it off!
yep, I forgot to shake my boot out another time and there was this horrid prickly feeling in the toe area when I put my foot in and I found an real big one........ When angry they rake at you with the hind legs which just happen to be covered with poisoned barbs...... My cat likes to eat them though, mind u she will even try to eat frogs, and decimates the baby rabbit population this time of the year!
Its more than a grasshopper... its a mutant carnivorous monster on steriods! they are very old and date back to prehistoric times apparently.
Yep, they're like sharks and crocodiles - nature decided that it got it right the first time so stuck with the original design. My dad used to go bushwalking a lot in NZ, and says if you go into a cave the wetas will chirp/shriek at you to warn you out of their territory, then they jump on you from the walls (they're also very fun to chase girls around with when you're about eight!) Cheers for the picture - I'm planning to go back to NZ to live in a year or two so it's good to get a reminder of the local fauna...
That's ace! i want one! how does this poison on their back legs rate? bee sting? nettle? worse? insects are dead tough. it's amazing. they.just.dont.give.up. gotta respect that. " haha, you've got no legs and your body's pulp, just give up! " * chomp * " why you little..* * stamp stamp stamp stamp * anyone else step on wasps to kill them? can a wasp sting penetrate the skin on the ball/heel of a foot? what to wetas eat? those hairs and jaws just for defence? or do they eat other bugs? or people? -Qis
For all of you who have had encounters with them. I found a site on google that said they are HARMLESS TO HUMANS. Sounds like the google sites guy's been drinking. I also heard NZ's got some kind of giant 3' worm or something. Is THAT true? If it is, good lord what are you guys down there doing to the critters!
Good Lord, that thing is the work of the Devil I tell you If I had one of those in my hair I would freak out.
us NZ girls are tough! wetas eat other insects mainly. dunno about the poison, never got stung by one yet... I beleive its very painful
there are all sorts of weird things in our bush...... including huge worms and giant carnivorous snails, plus we have the worlds largest flightless parrot - the kakapo, its bright green and is endangered
Oh lord please forgive me but.....I went out with a girl from NZ once, and I never ever found anything like that in her bush