One of the world’s heaviest insects, wētāpunga or giant weta, have been reintroduced to Northland by Project Island Song after at least a 180-year absence.
Article by Project Island Song.
An exciting three-year re-introduction programme through a partnership between Project Island Song and Auckland Zoo has seen the first 100+ wētāpunga (Deinacrida heteracantha), bred at Auckland Zoo, released onto three of the pest-free islands of Ipipiri in the eastern Bay of Islands this summer.
Project Island Song is a partnership between the Guardians of the Bay of Islands (a local community group), Te Rawhiti hapu (Ngati Kuta and Patukeha), and the Department of Conservation (DOC). The release is part of a bigger ecological restoration programme. Blandy Witehira, hapū representative for Project Island Song set out their vision whereby “the mauri (lifeforce) and wairua (spirit) of Ipipiri is intact”.
This is the seventh endemic animal species to be reintroduced by Project Island Song to date. Richard Robbins, Project Island Song’s General Manager said, “wētāpunga is our first invertebrate species to be returned to the islands”. Richard added “I must admit it feels a great way to finish what has been a difficult year on a more positive note”.
The weird and wonderful nocturnal wētāpunga, found only in New Zealand, has been around for over 190 million years, and outsizes all 100+ species of wētā unique to New Zealand as the giant of the 11 giant wētā species.
Sadly, like a lot of Aotearoa’s endemic species, wētāpunga have struggled due to introduced pest-predators and widespread habitat modification and loss since humans arrived. Wētāpunga were once widespread throughout Northland, Auckland and their islands, including Great Barrier.
These cryptic critters were recorded in the Bay of Islands by William Colenso in 1839. However, the impact of introduced pest-predators on wētāpunga has been significant, and their distribution decreased until they were only naturally found on Te Hauturu-o-Toi (Little Barrier Island).
Since 2012, from a small number of founders collected from Hauturu-o-Toi with support from Ngati Manuhiri and DOC, Auckland Zoo has bred and released more than 5,000 wētāpunga onto five pest-free islands in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf – Motuora, Tiritiri Matangi and The Noises’ Otata and Motuhoropapa islands, and Motuihe.
“This Northland wētāpunga reintroduction will be the first outside of the Hauraki Gulf and now brings to eight, the number of pest-free islands we’ve been involved in returning these extraordinary creatures to,” say Auckland Zoo Ectotherms team leader, Don McFarlane.
“It is so fantastic that Project Island Song is now championing and joining efforts to recover and ensure a future for wētāpunga – a species that plays a really vital role in maintaining our forest ecosystems through the plants it eats and seeds it then distributes – that in turn benefit so many of our other precious native species.”
Bronwyn Bauer-Hunt, DOC’s Pewhairangi/Bay of Islands Operations Manager/Pou matarautaki says, “Te Papa Atawhai (Department of Conservation) is a proud part of the Project Island Song partnership, returning wētāpunga to Ipipiri. This mahi is vital to the ongoing restoration of the Bay’s pest-free islands. Named after the God of Ugly Things, the wētāpunga is a beautiful taonga rightly returned to its whenua.”
In anticipation of the arrival of the wētāpunga, Project Island Song has been setting up the release sites across the three islands, with the support of Auckland Zoo. Auckland Zoo ectotherm keeper Ben Goodwin has shared his expertise on preparing for the release of wētāpunga onto the pest-free islands of Ipipiri – https://youtu.be/3fqZvKnKDQQ
Critical to this species recovery programme is the kaitiakitanga of Te Hauturu-o-Toi mana whenua, Little Barriers Supports Trust, Auckland Zoo, and the Department of Conservation. The delivery of Project Island Song wētāpunga reintroduction programme is also proudly supported by the Lottery Grants Board, the Tindall Foundation and WWF-New Zealand as their Environmental Donation Manager for the Community Conservation Fund, private donors, and the generous in-kind support of our volunteers.
Wonderful wētāpunga facts:
- Adult female wētāpunga are heavier than males and on average, weigh approximately 40 grams. The largest recorded female (gravid; with eggs) weighed 71.3 grams – larger than your average house sparrow!
- The females will lay eggs throughout their adult life, generally producing between 100 to 300 cigar-shaped eggs which remain underground for up to eight months before hatching.
- Wētāpunga have been around for more than 190 million years, around as long as our tuatara, and have changed little in this time.
- There are over 100 endemic species of wētā in New Zealand, including 11 species of giant wētā, of which the wētāpunga is the largest.
- Wētāpunga feed mostly on fresh leaves and prefer native plants with large leaves such as karaka, karamu, māmāngi, māhoe, and kohekohe.
- For its size, the predominantly vegetarian wētāpunga produces one of the largest poo pellets of any insect. It’s nutrient rich and plays a vital role in the ecosystem, germinating, fertilising,and distributing plant seeds.
- Wētāpunga go through 10 development stages or ‘instars’ before reaching adulthood, meaning they shed or moult their hard outer covering (exoskeleton) an incredible 10 times. They achieve adulthood in approximately 15 – 24 months and begin breeding one to two months after maturity. Adults can live for over a year, meaning their total lifespan from egg to adult is about three years.
For more information contact Richard Robbins, General Manager, Project Island Song at richard@projectislandsong.co.nz
