Wētāpunga: the biggest wētā in the world by Jo van Dam

In Wētāpunga: The biggest wētā in the world, Jo van Dam, popular children’s author, celebrates this extraordinary creature. Wētāpunga are the biggest wētā and one of the largest insects in the world and they can only be found in Aotearoa. They have lived here for over 80 million years. They were here before the dinosaurs!

Jo van Dam has packed Wētāpunga full of information covering their habitat, breeding habits and what they eat, all written in child friendly language which they will enjoy and understand. She has a talent for making science fun!

Included are lots of fascinating facts about these unique creatures eg:

• Their ears are not on their heads but below the knee joints on their front legs.

• During her adult life, which is around 9-12 months, a female wētāpunga can lay hundreds of eggs.

• Female wētāpunga weigh around 40 gm, which is even heavier than a mouse. The heaviest recorded was a female carrying eggs who weighed just over 70 gm, about as much as 65 jellybeans.

Many of the full-page photographs of wētāpunga in their environment are lifesized or even bigger and were kindly provided by Auckland Zoo. They look rather fearsome, so it will be reassuring for children to discover in her story that wētāpunga don’t sting or scratch. They are actually quite harmless if you leave them alone. And the long spike at the back of the female’s body, which looks like a stinger, is actually a hollow tube called an ovipositer, which she uses to lay her eggs in the ground.

She tells how Wētāpunga were once widespread in many parts of the North Island but were decimated by introduced predators such as possums, hedgehogs, stoats, ferrets, rabbits, and kiore who found them an easy, tasty, crispy meal. The last wētāpunga sighted on mainland Aotearoa was in the 1880’s. Only a small remnant population remained on Hauturu-O-Toi (Little Barrier Island).

But, with the permission of the kaitiaki (guardians) of Hauturu-O-Toi, Auckland Zoo was allowed to breed them and was so successful that they have been able to release more than 7000 wētāpunga to eight predator-free islands. It is a conservation success story!

One of these pest-free islands was Tiritiri Matangi Island in the Hauraki Gulf. Wētāpunga are mostly nocturnal creatures who hide under loose bark or in cavities of trees during the day. But when I was guiding a school group on Tiritiri Matangi recently the students spotted five clinging to tree trunks on their walk up to the Lighthouse. Seeing them in the wild was a very special experience!

Jo van Dam has pitched her book at a wide age range from preschoolers to intermediate age. Little ones will especially enjoy the cute comicky illustrations drawn by illustrator Laura Rayner and hearing what they have to say about wetapunga throughout the book. And they will love spotting the little drawings of wetapunga on each page.

Older children will be able to read the story for themselves and enjoy the additional fun facts in breakout boxes. They should also find the glossary of scientific terms at the end of the book very useful.

At the end of her story, she encourages children to do their bit for conservation too and includes ways that they can protect other wētā in their gardens at home, or in the schoolgrounds.

Wētāpunga: The biggest wētā in the world is a delightful, informative book. Every preschool, primary and intermediate school will want to add a copy to their libraries. It would also be an excellent book for nature-loving families.

Reviewer: Lyn Potter

Bateman Books