T.E.R:R.A.I.N - Taranaki Educational Resource: Research, Analysis and Information Network

Weta (Ground) Hemiandrus pallitarsis

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Ensifera
Family: Anostostomatidae
Genus: Hemiandrus
Species: H. pallitarsis
Binominal name: Hemiandrus pallitarsis
Common name: Ground weta

Hemiandrus pallitarsis is a common ground burrowing weta about 28 mm in body length. It is native to the North Island and is found at all altitudes up to 200 masl. They are nocturnal and at night emerge to hunt or scavenge invertebrate prey, they also eat fruit. Being nocturnal they are an important food source for kiwi.
Hemiandrus pallitarsis have thread-like antennae which can reach several times the body length. Like all ground wetas, it does not have ears on their forelegs like those of the tree weta. The adults have a lifespan of over a year. The females inject their eggs into plant material in the ground.

The Hemiandrus species use vibration signals to attract mates. Listen to the sound of a ground weta drumming its abdomen Courtesy of Massey Univerity.

Hemiandrus pallitarsis and all other weta species are on the diet of rodents such as rats and stoats.




A photo showing the length of the antennae 
