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“GREENFINGERS” BUGS ABOUT

Watch Out! There’s a lot of bugs about!

This exhibit area features New Zealand’s only exhibit of the mighty wetapunga, an endangered giant weta species found only on Little Barrier Island. They are one of the largest insects in the world and can weigh as much as a sparrow!


TarantulaTarantula Encounter

When - 1.30pm (Weekends & holidays only)
NB: This encounter is held in the Butterfly House
They look scary BUT a Tarantula`s venom is
weaker than that of a bee, painful,
but mostly harmless to humans.


What has ears on its knees and has outlived the dinosaurs? The weta of course!

Weta are only found in New Zealand and Butterfly Creek is home to the largest of all the weta species, the Little Barrier Giant Weta (wetapunga).
These mighty insects can weigh around 70grams and this means they can’t jump away from predators very quickly. Rats and stoats have almost wiped out the wetapunga, but the team at Butterfly Creek, along with the Dept of Conservation and supporters such as Greenfingers, are doing their bit to help build up populations of this amazing insect again.

Wetapunga GreenFingers

Weta are only found in New Zealand and Butterfly Creek is home to the largest of all the weta species, the Little Barrier Giant Weta (wetapunga). These mighty insects can weigh around 70grams and this means they can’t jump away from predators very quickly.

Rats and stoats have almost wiped out the wetapunga, but the team at Butterfly Creek, along with the Dept of Conservation and supporters such as Greenfingers, are doing their bit to help build up populations of this amazing insect again.

cockroach

Invertebrates ( The Bugs About Crew - not in food chain order)
click on a name to view the fact file of the insect you are interested in.

Wetapunga    Deinacrida heteracantha
Black field cricket    Teleogryllus commodus
Gisborne cockroach    Drymaplaneta semivitta
American cockroach    Periplaneta americana
Honey bee    Apis mellifera
Migratory locust    Locusta migratoria
King baboon tarantula    Citharischius crawshayi
cockroach smaller Zebra tarantula    Aphonopelma seemani
Pink toed tarantula    Avicularia urticans Twinkle toes