The Giant Weta

Question 1

explain the giant weta’s evolution

Answer 1

• large flightless crickets (orthoptera)
• large size is likely due to large mammalian predators (except for bats)
• aspects of Forster’s Rule: gigantism

Question 2

explain the giant weta’s habitat

Answer 2

• nocturnal and lives in a variety of habitats including grassland, shrub land, forests, and caves
• they excavate holes stems, rotting logs, and in trees, or occupy pre-formed burrows

Question 3

explain the giant weta’s diet

Answer 3

• mainly herbivores, but can also eat smaller insects
• feeds on lichens, leaves, flowers, seed-heads, and fruits

Question 4

explain the weta’s interaction with other species

Answer 4

• they do not cope well with other predators that have invaded
• thus, they are always being captured and transferred to an island free of mammals

Question 5

reasons why the giant wepa is endangered

Answer 5

• invasive predation
• nutritional stress

Question 6

reasons why the giant wepa is endangered - invasive predation

Answer 6

• invasive carnivorous species
• different from being part of native species diets, already fragile ecosystem

Question 7

reasons why the giant wepa is endangered - nutritional stress

Answer 7

habitat lacks resources (invasive species, human development)

Question 8

conservation methods for the giant wepa

Answer 8

tracking methods

Question 9

conservation methods for the giant wepa - tracking methods

Answer 9

• for conservation and monitoring purposes, tracking tunnels are most effective in detecting the giant wepa
• systematic searching of habitat during the day -> useful for collecting more data