Rescue animal

[P C Headland]

I was doing my lunchtime walk today when I came across a cat looking intently at this "little" fella. Cats quite like playing with these large native insects (wēta) as they are quite durable compared to mice.

But given he's a native I rescued him and placed him amongst one of the many imported plants that go nuts here (Agapanthas - now classed as an undesirable plant which people are encouraged not to plant any more).

The body of the wēta without the spiky bit on the end would be around 7cm and is heavy enough to feel. He's harmless, like just about all creatures here, but may well scare the sh*t out of you Oh, there are some much larger species too, though they're not found in urban areas.

wēta on agapantha

[PFMcFarland]

PF

[jamesmck]

Great rescue!

[Bennybee]

Last summer I found a huge and entirely bright green grasshopper of about the same size of your critter. It had a 7-8 centimeters long body. He was well hidden between the leaves of our garden flowers and I accidentally stumbled upon it while hunting for the slugs that ate my plants. I had never seen such a large hopper here and was quite frightened at first. It looked like something that usually lives in other parts of the world. By the time I came back with a camera he was gone. With huge bounds no doubt.