Grasshoppers

In keeping with my regards to changing the environment for human benefits, and the great connection between life and water, I’m hopping the ditch back to consider the proposed greening of the Mackenzie country in New Zealand’s South Island where more water isn’t always a good thing.

The Mackenzie basin is landscape of mostly native grasslands, creating golden panoramas edged in snowy mountains that make it one of the selling points in our ‘clean green’ tourist image. 

Burkes pass, leaving the Mackenzie country.

 

And, aside from the economic benefits, it is also home to many unique plants and animals. Close to my heart are the Orthopterans that inhabit this wild and inhospitable landscape.

Hemideina maori - tree weta known for surviving freezing, Mackenzie country,photo by Mollivan Jon

Much of this land is government owned and leased, mostly to ‘sheep and beef farmers’ where grazing of the mostly native grasses is standard. But there are current proposals to sell the land to leaseholders allowing the lucrative but environmentally devastating conversion to dairy farming.

Forest and bird are running a campaign to petition the government and keep this land in public hands – preventing the ‘greening’ of the Mackenzie basin. For more information, and ways to help, see here:

http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/what-we-do/campaigns/keep-the-mackenzie-country-brown

And if you’re interested in New Zealand’s water issues check out my classmates blog : http://julietlarkin.wordpress.com/

There are no Tree Weta in Dunedin

It’s a sad day for the weta lover in me, today i know there aren’t tree weta in Dunedin.

While i love all kinds of bugs, Orthopterans, and particularly tree weta (Genus Hemidinea – see image below) are my favorites, they are the gentle giants of the insect world, quietly munching away at the vegetation. But there are no tree weta in my new home, they just don’t live here.

On the upside their feisty ‘little brothers’ the ground weta are around. Apparently. I haven’t spotted any yet, but to be fair i haven’t really been looking, and as is the case for many bugs if you don’t try to find them, they might as well be invisible.

Ground weta (genus Hemiandrus) are the little ones that you might dig up when gardening, they are the carnivores of the group and tend to come out fighting so watch your fingers. These, unlike their chilled out cousins, go hunting for their food, and some even protect their young in little burrows until they are big enough to go out into the world alone.

Other weta you might be lucky enough to encounter on a New Zealand adventure are the alpine scree weta (Deinacrida genus, same as the giant weta), tusked weta (Anisoura species, although only seen if you are very lucky, and volunteer in the right place) and the giant weta.

Weta = ‘armoured tanks’ on legs, intricate, fantastic!

What do you think? What kind of Weta are there at your place?

Photo by Tony Wills