auckland tree weta sheltering in the hollow of old trees

Size
Body: 3–4 cm
Lifespan
2–3 years
Diet
Omnivorous: eats leaves, fruit, lichen and small insects. Also scavenges on dead birds and snails.
Habitat
Native forests and mature exotic trees in upper North Island. The arborists of the canopy, living exclusively in tree hollows, dead branches and under loose bark high above forest floor.
Range
Upper North Island from Bay of Plenty northwards, including Auckland, Northland, Waikato and Coromandel. Found in native forests and mature exotic trees with hollow branches.
Endemism
Endemic
Main Threats
Habitat loss from removal of dead wood and old trees which eliminates nesting sites. Predation from rats, possums and introduced wasps.
Population
The most common and widespread of the tree wētā species, found from Bay of Plenty northwards. While currently secure, sensitive to habitat loss and removal of dead wood which eliminates nesting sites.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
The gentle giant of the insect world. A wētā that is a heavyweight. Female Auckland tree wētā can reach lengths of 70 millimetres, making them one of the heaviest insects on Earth relative to their size. They possess a robust, reddish-brown exoskeleton, enormous hind legs built for leaping, and a pair of formidable, curved mandibles that look capable of snapping a pencil. A wētā that looks fierce but is not. Despite this intimidating armoury, they are harmless herbivores, using their strong jaws only to chew leaves, flowers and fruit, or to scrape lichen off bark. Life for a wētā is a story of real estate. They do not dig burrows. Instead, they are squatters in the homes of others, specifically the holes bored by beetle larvae. A single tree hollow can become a crowded apartment block, housing a harem of females guarded by a single, large male. These males are fiercely territorial, using their massive heads and mandibles to wrestle intruders out of the entrance, blocking the hole with their own bodies to defend the group. At night, they emerge to forage, moving with a slow, deliberate gait through the canopy. Their long antennae taste the air for danger. They are creatures of the dark, strictly nocturnal to avoid the eyes of predatory birds. During the day, they retreat into their crevices, entering a state of torpor. If a predator grabs a leg, the wētā simply snaps it off at a weak joint and escapes, regrowing a smaller version over subsequent moults. They are living fossils, unchanged for millions of years. The tree hollow is dark. The male wētā blocks the entrance with his body, massive head and mandibles ready. A rival approaches. The male wrestles him away. The females are safe. The wētā does not know it is a living fossil. It does not know it is a gentle giant. It just wants to protect its harem. To encounter an Auckland tree wētā is to meet a prehistoric survivor. The quiet, crunching sound of the night canopy, the gentle giants that prove you do not need to be fierce to be formidable. The Auckland tree wētā is proof.