Wētā

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/wt

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Families Anostostomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae
2. What are wētā and why are they called giant bugs?Wētā are large insects that look like giant crickets. They are found only in New Zealand and can be as heavy as a small bird. They belong to two families, Anostostomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae.
3. Where do wētā live in New Zealand?They live in forests, caves, and even alpine areas across New Zealand. They are found nowhere else in the world.

Endemic: Native and restricted exclusively to a particular geographical region.
Nocturnal: Primarily active during the night, resting or sleeping during daylight hours.
Flightless: Lacking the ability to fly, a common adaptation in island fauna.
Biogeography: The study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time.