World’s heaviest insect back from brink in New Zealand conservation win

Wellington: It’s not as endearing as an elephant, nowhere near as cute as a big cat. But in a major conservation win, the world’s heaviest insect is back from the brink.

New Zealand’s endemic wētāpunga was until recently listed as ‘nationally endangered’, having disappeared from the mainland following the introduction of invasive predators like rats.

However, a breeding programme that saw more than 11,000 of the insects released into the wild has been hailed a success, with a new study revealing that reintroduced populations are thriving.

Weighing as much as a mouse – up to 70 grams – the wētāpunga is believed to be the world’s heaviest insect. Over 15 years, it was introduced to 10 sites on predator-free islands in the Hauraki Gulf and elsewhere.

The species has now been downlisted from ‘nationally endangered’ to ‘nationally increasing’.”The future of wētāpunga is looking bright,” said lead author Dr Chris Green, from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation. “There are many more critically endangered invertebrates that could benefit from similar programmes.”

Ecologists hailed the turnaround as a “conservation success story,” showing that large-scale invertebrate recovery is possible with sustained predator-free habitat protection and captive breeding.