i was covering the grapes so the birds don't em and this lil fella was sleeping under a leaf ... gave me a bit of a fright but i do love em.
Its a male weta and their name is derrived from 'wetapunga' which means 'god of ugly things'
(//http://img19.exs.cx/img19/1098/wetainthegrapevine3ic.jpg)
I'm not sure of the species but looks like a cricket of some sort. Do they eat bugs or grapes?
they're really interesting. nz has all kinds of really neat animals, apparently.
do you know if that's one of the kind that eats other insects?
//http://www.kcc.org.nz/animals/weta/treeweta.asp
(//http://www.kcc.org.nz/animals/weta/_mahoenui.jpg)
they look awesome!
-j.