Tree weta

Tree wētā (Hemideina) are the most commonly encountered wētā in suburban settings in the North Island. They are up to 40 mm long and most commonly live in holes in trees formed by beetle and moth larvae or where rot has set in after a twig has broken off. The hole, called a gallery, is maintained by the wētā and any growth of the bark surrounding the opening is chewed away.

There are seven species of tree wētā:
- Hemideina thoracica (Auckland tree wētā) live in northern and central North Island, south to Hawke's Bay and the Manawatu.
- H. crassidens (Wellington tree wētā) can be found in southern North Island, northern parts of South Island and the West Coast.
- H. trewicki (Hawke's Bay tree wētā), are restricted to the southern Hawke's Bay where their range partially overlaps with Auckland tree weta.
- H. femorata live in Marlborough and Canterbury.
- H. ricta are restricted to Banks Peninsula.
- H. broughi (West Coast bush wētā) have a range that overlaps with Wellington tree wētā in Nelson and the northern portion of the West Coast area.
- H. maori, the mountain stone wētā, live in drier areas of the South Island high country from the Kaikoura Ranges south to the Rock and Pillar Range in Otago. Unlike other species they live above the tree line on the ground under rocks .


H. crassidens male	H. femorata female	H. thoracica male


H. trewicki male	H. ricta female	H. maori male

Tree wētā (Hemideina) species identification key*:

1. Jaw ridges present	Yes.............................H. femorata	No.................................go to 2
2. Stridulatory ridges present	Yes.............................go to 3	No.................................H. broughi
3. Number of stridulatory ridges	<16.............................go to 4	>16...............................go to 6
4. Striped abdomen (prominant dark and light colour stripes)?	Yes.............................go to 5	No................................H. thoracica
5. Pronotum dark or light coloured?	Dark coloured..........H. crassidens	Light coloured with or without few dark blobs...........................H. trewicki
6. Striped abdomen (prominant dark and light colour stripes)?	Yes............................H. maori	No..............................H. ricta

*Alternatively, possible tree wētā species could be worked out through the location guide below. However in certain localities, 2 or more tree weta species co-occur and in that case, the above key has to be used in combination with the location guide.

Distribution