Cook Strait giant weta  (Deinacrida rugosa)

Description

Reaching up to an enormous seven centimetres in length, the Cook Strait giant weta is one of the largest insects in the world (3) (4). Its scientific name Deinacrida, meaning “terrible grasshopper”, is an apt description for this fearsome-looking species (4). The brownish-yellow body is bulky and heavily armoured, with the upper surface covered by a series of thickened, overlapping plates, which have black markings (2) (4). Relative to the size of the head, the jaws are large (5), and the elongated hind legs have five or six large spines, and can be raised above the head in defence (2) (4). The female is significantly larger than the male, and both sexes lack wings (5) (6).

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