Tusked Weta

Male Tusked Weta

There are three species of Tusked Weta. They are all protected species.

The Northland tusked weta, Middle Island tusked weta and Raukumara tusked weta.

Mainly carnivorous, the tusked weta likes eating earthworms and beetles It is a good tree climber The Northland Tusked Weta likes to live in tree holes but the Middle Island Tusked Weta prefers to live on the ground and seems reluctant to climb unless chased The Tusked Weta can leap up to one metre!
Huge tusks grow from the jaw of the male Tusked Weta but it does not use them for biting. The tusks are used for pushing and shoving his opponent, butting him like an angry ram The female tusked weta does not have tusks like the male and is quite similar in appearance to the ground weta

The Middle Island Tusked Weta (Motuweta isolata) is the most endangered species of weta. It was discovered on Middle Mercury Island by a government scientist in 1970. Middle Mercury Island is a 13ha island in the Mercury group off the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula. The island has no introduced predators but is ecologically fragile.

The Middle Island tusked weta is being eaten by native lizards and needs some help. The Department of Conservation staff have been learning about the weta to try and save it from extinction.

The department decided to establish new populations of the weta on other islands. But they needed more weta to be able to do this. They began a captive breeding programme and have begun to establish new populations on Double Island and Red Mercury Island.

For more information about this programme contact the Department of Conservation. www.doc.govt.nz

Photograph by George Gibbs

This is male Raukumara tusked weta.

They are vary rare and live in the East Cape of New Zealand.