What is Wētā?
'''Wētā''' (also spelled '''weta''') is the [[common name]] for a group of about 70 [[insect]] species in the families [[Anostostomatidae]] and [[Rhaphidophoridae]]. They are found in [[New Zealand]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wetageta.massey.ac.nz/|title=WētāGeta|last=Phoenix Group Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics|date=31 January 2020|website=Massey University|access-date=2020-02-10}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> They are giant flightless crickets, and some are among the heaviest insects in the world.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Trewick|first1=Steve|title=NZ wild life : introducing the weird and wonderful character of natural New Zealand|last2=Morgan-Richards|first2=Mary|publisher=Penguin|year=2014|isbn=9780143568896|location=Auckland, New Zealand|oclc=881301862}}</ref> Wētā are preyed on by introduced mammals, and some species are now critically endangered. ==References== {{reflist}} {{stub}} [[Category:Orthoptera]] [[Category:Animals of New Zealand]]