Bug FAQAuckland Tree Weta
Hemideina thoracica · Order: Orthoptera · Family: Anostostomatidae
Adult Auckland tree wētā are large insects up to 40 mm long and weigh 3 to 7 g. They have a brown abdomen and a pale pronotum marked with dark, hieroglyph-like patterns that set them apart from similar wētā species. These nocturnal, arboreal herbivores live in tree cavities by day and feed on leaves, fruit and seeds at night, sometimes adding invertebrates at higher elevations.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The abdomen is brown and the pronotum is pale with dark, hieroglyph-like markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults weigh 3 to 7 g and can reach up to 40 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are arboreal, herbivorous generalists found in forests, scrub, and suburban gardens. During the day they hide in tree cavities and emerge at night to feed.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
They forage at night, eating mainly leaves, some fruit and seeds from many plant species. At higher elevations they consume more invertebrates and fewer plant species.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Mating is polygynandrous, with both sexes having multiple partners.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Daytime cavity use varies with season and the sex of previous occupants. Males and females that have lived apart start sharing cavities in early summer.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be told apart from the Wellington tree wētā by its colour pattern.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Same family (Anostostomatidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemideina_thoracica
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.