Fleeting Beauty: The Tiny and the Giant

Squiddy found this tiny nymph yesterday; we thought it was a wētā, but it’s likely to have been a katydid. I coaxed it onto some dandelions and was able to make just this one photo before it jumped away. Unfortunately, its hind legs, which were easily at least three times the length of its body, were not within my depth of focus. I should have made a few shots while it was in the glass, and was actually quite lucky to get this one. That dandelion head, by the way, is 4.5 cm (1.77 inches) in diameter. Since I already posted this before a more likely ID, I’ll keep the wētā information. They are indigenous to New Zealand and are basically giant, flightless cricket relatives, belonging to the families Anastomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae, and are among the heaviest insects in the world. An adult giant wētā can be as large as a gerbil. My only personal experience with an adult was on the island of Tiritiri Matangi in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland in December 2018. This one was about three inches (7.6 cm) long. It was snuggled into the foliage so I couldn’t get a very clear view, but you should get a pretty good idea. If you do a Google search for “weta insect,” lots more information is available for this magnificent insect.