Meet the world's heaviest insect, which weighs three times more than a mouse... and eats carrots

• New Zealand's giant weta is the heaviest insect in the world and this one is the largest ever recorded

By Jessica Satherley

Last updated at 9:02 AM on 2nd December 2011

• From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2068547/Weta-insect-Heaviest-world-weighs-3-times-mouse.html#ixzz1fIEtPAI8
  

A nature-lover has revealed how he spent two days tracking down a giant insect on a remote New Zealand island – and got it to eat a carrot out of his hand.

Mark Moffett’s find is the world's biggest insect in terms of weight, which at 71g is heavier than a sparrow and three times that of a mouse.

The 53-year-old former park ranger discovered the giant weta up a tree and his real life Bug's Bunny has now been declared the largest ever found.

Big appetite: A former park ranger from America found the heaviest ever recorded giant weta on New Zealand's Little Barrier Island and fed her this carrot out of his hand

Various species: There are over 70 types of Weta species in New Zealand but the giant weta has been named the biggest insect in the world because of its weight

WORLD'S LARGEST INSECT

There are over 70 types of Weta species in New Zealand but the giant weta has been named the biggest insect in the world because of its weight.

A female giant weta filled with eggs can reach up to 70g or more and the largest of the species are found on Little Barrier Island.

They are usually less social and more passive than other weta.

Their diet consists of plants, other small insects and fruit.

Their size is an example of island gigantism, which is a biological phenomenon leading to a larger size than their mainland relatives because of their isolation and lack of large predators.

He came across the cricket-like creature, which has a wing span of seven inches, after two days of searching on a tiny island.

The creepy crawly is only found on Little Barrier Island, in New Zealand, although there are 70 other types of smaller weta found throughout the country.

 

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The giants of the species were wiped off the mainland by rats accidentally introduced by Europeans.

After Mark found the female weta he fed it the carrot before putting it back where he found her.

Mark, 53, said: ‘Three of us walked the trails of this small island for two nights scanning the vegetation for a giant weta.

‘We spent many hours with no luck finding any at all, before we saw her up in a tree.

‘The giant weta is the largest insect in the world, and this is the biggest one ever found, she weighs the equivalent to three mice.

‘She enjoyed the carrot so much she seemed to ignore the fact she was resting on our hands and carried on munching away.

‘She would have finished the carrot very quickly, but this is an extremely endangered species and we didn't want to risk indigestion.

‘After she had chewed a little I took this picture and we put her right back where we found her.’

Mark, from Colorado, America, added: ‘We bug lovers hear a lot of people who think insects are inferior in some way because of their size, so it was great to see such a big insect.

‘This became all the more amazing when we realised that this was the largest insect recorded.’

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2068547/Weta-insect-Heaviest-world-weighs-3-times-mouse.html#ixzz1fQoeVV1n

FOOD: Surviving on Bugs

Most of us cringe at the idea of eating insects and other types of bugs. Something in our mind just says, "oh, hell no!" Yet, insects are in fact extremely rich in protein and fat and many cultures eat bugs on a daily basis. Bugs are very easy to find in all seasons other than winter. In a survival situation bugs must be considered as a daily staple in you protein supply. I have never eaten bugs so I can't tell you what they taste like from personal experience. I have heard that most of them taste the same when cooked and that they have a nutty taste when toasted. In my opinion, cooked bugs are the only edible bugs. Some bugs must be cooked in order to get rid of toxins. Unless you know exactly what toxins each species carries you need to cook insects before eating them.


The easiest way to cook bugs in a survival situation is toasting them in a camp fire. You can place the insects on a flat rock and place it in the edge of your fire, by doing this you have made a cooking stone. It also may be helpful to place another rock behind your cooking stone which helps to reflect the heat. The cooking stone will heat up and begin to toast the bugs without burning them like a direct flame would. Burning bugs will breakdown much of the proteins and fats which is the opposite of what you want.

wild polk salad

A survival stew may be an easier way to wrap your head around eating bugs. I will write a more extensive post on survival stew another day but a crash course will do for now. A survival stew is simply a stew made from what ever edibles you can find. For example, during August here in east Tennessee, polk salad is abundant and tasty but it is toxic when it matures and the root can be deadly. A parboiled young plant is perfectly edible. I could prepare my polk salad and add some crickets,  grasshoppers, and other bugs to it. If I boiled all of that to together for a few minutes and then brought it to a simmer (remember that cooking stone) for a little while longer I would have myself a nutritious survival stew. I could also add some black berries to make it sweet.

Back to bugs, avoid bugs with bright colors and hairy bodies. These are usually signs of danger. Worms are very edible but avoid grubs unless you know exactly what type it is because some grubs are toxic.  Also avoid bugs from dead animals an manure. And like I said earlier, cook all bugs. This adds a safety point to eating insects. Anyone with a survival mindset needs to learn their local species of plants, bugs, animals, and fungi. It would be beneficial to know everything that you can and cannot eat from the wild in a survival situation.


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