The Australian winged weta has arrived in the Far North. Photo / supplied
The Australian winged weta has arrived in the Far North. Photo / supplied
Entomologist Dr Jenny Dymock last week announced that the Australian winged weta, Pteropotrechus species, had established in the Far North.
Two specimens had been found at Cable Bay, one in a letterbox and the other in children's paddling pool, in the past week.
The Australian weta, also known in Australiaas the king cricket, was about 30-35mm long. It arrived in New Zealand in 1990, she said, but until now had only been recorded in Auckland, South Auckland and the Coromandel.
Nocturnal, and thought to be carnivorous, it was very similar in appearance to the New Zealand tree weta, with spiny legs and "impressive jaws," but it had wings when fully mature. All New Zealand weta were wingless and flightless.
Dr Dymock was unable to say whether it would be a problem in the Far North, where it had probably made its way as a hitchhiker. Despite its presence in Auckland and the Coromandel for 30 years, no one had studied any effects it might be having.
"It is carnivorous, so it could possibly have some effects down the food chain," she said.
Auckland University entomologist John Early said Australian weta had been found in clothes left on the line overnight, under outdoor furniture and even in garden hoses. And they were stroppy.
"Go near it and it splays its wings, opens its jaws and displays the spines on its legs," he said.
His own experience with the insect also indicated that its bite was quite powerful, although not powerful enough to blood.
Dr Dymock said it was probably too late to eliminate it in the Far North, so squashing it would make no difference, and it would be a shame if "our precious New Zealand weta" were to be misidentified as the Australian variety.
