‘Stroppy’ we¯ ta¯ is here to stay
Spread of carnivorous, flying, biting Aussie insect in Northland not yet known
Carnivorous flying insect the Australian winged we¯ta¯ is more widespread in Northland than first thought, after news broke last week it had been found in the Far North.
Doubtless Bay entomologist Dr Jenny Dymock said the Australian winged we¯ta¯ — Pteropotrechus species — had established itself in the Far North. Two specimens had been found at Cable Bay this month, one in a letterbox and the other in a children’s paddling pool.
The Australian we¯ta¯, also known in Australia as the king cricket, was about 30 to 35mm long. It arrived in New Zealand in 1990, she said, but until recently had only been recorded in Auckland, South Auckland and Coromandel.
However, since the Northern Advocate’s story was published last week, it had been viewed more than 215,000 times on the newspaper’s Facebook page as of yesterday, with many people horrified at the thought that the “stroppy” flying insect was now living here. It also drew comments that people had seen the winged we¯ta¯ in other parts of Northland,
with Waipu¯ mentioned several times. Dymock said she had received plenty of interest in the winged we¯ta¯ since the story was published and it was clear the insect was in other parts of Northland, but exactly how widespread was yet to be determined.
“It was recorded from Waipu¯ last year and now looks to have arrived in the Far North,” she said.
The winged we¯ta¯ looks just like the NZ we¯ ta¯ , except it has wings. NZ we¯ ta¯ are wingless and flightless.
However, Dymock said, confounding the issue was that people may get the Australian winged we¯ta¯ confused with the olive green coastal katydid, which has been in Northland for several years now and has also reached Auckland.
The coastal katydid, Austrosalomona falcata, is from Queensland and New South Wales. Dymock said it was a member of the grasshopper family, and was in Northland to stay.
It was first reported in Northland in 2007 from Kaitaia and is now found in Doubtless Bay, Kerikeri and Russell.
The coastal katydid is similar to a large grasshopper (up to 5cm in length) with a cone-shaped head. It is an olive green colour, quite unlike
the bright green species already found in NZ. Its chirpy call is low and incessant and is heard at dusk and into the night.
The coastal katydid is adapting well to the Northland environment and is likely to spread further south, she said. It is not known what the coastal katydid is feeding on in NZ or how it got here, but is probably a hitch-hiker, specimens having been intercepted before.
Dymock will be studying the insect to find out more about its habits, but in the meantime Northlanders will get used to coastal katydids entering houses — they are attracted to lights — and hearing a new sound in the insect chorus.