It's hard not to get the willies looking at this picture! This is the new world record holder for "largest insect." It was found by Mark Moffett, a former park ranger and current world adventurer who combed Little Barrier Island off the coast of New Zealand until he found his prize.

 

This insect is large enough that, as you can see, it eats whole full-sized carrots. Which it grasps with its sharp, pointy feet. Part of me wants to find the look in its eye adorable, but mostly I just want to cringe.

 

This is a weta, which is something like a gigantic cricket. This particular specimen has a seven-inch wingspan. I will now pause to let you think about the idea of this monster flying around. Maybe towards you, towards your face. OKAY STOP.

All revulsion aside, the weta is a fascinating and incredibly endangered creature. The name "weta" refers to a group of insects which are native to New Zealand. There is a lot of dispute and confusion over the archaeological evidence, but suffice it to say that there are very few examples of weta outside New Zealand, for whatever reason.

 

All weta are large, cricket-like insects. But there is a sub-category of giant weta which are truly colossal. And the largest of the large is the Little Barrier Island weta, also known as the "wetapunga." The wetapunga is an excellent example of island gigantism, an evolutionary phenomenon by which animals on islands become strangely colossal.

 

The wetapunga was once more common on the mainland, but the plague of rats introduced by Europeans has pretty much wiped them out. Luckily, Little Barrier Island remains rat-free, for now. Luckily, the New Zealand government has essentially cordoned off this tropical island, which is a protected conservation area.

 

Most weta are peaceful insects, equipped only for defense. They can deliver a vicious bite with their pincers, but will only do so if provoked. They can also scratch with their sharp claws, which are shown to good effect in the photograph above.

 

Weta do not sting, but many females have a large pointy ovipositor which looks like a stinger. That seems to be the case with this record-holding weta, which appears to be propped up on the man's hand with its ovipositor. (It's hard to tell. I keep getting distracted by its lizard-like scales. Who knew that a sufficiently large insect would look like a lizard?)