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weta

British  
/ ˈwɛtə /

noun

  1. any of various wingless insects of the family Stenopelmatidae of New Zealand, with long spiny legs

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of weta

Māori

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Maori intended to eat the kiore, but the rats multiplied and spread far faster than they could be consumed, along the way feasting on weta, young tuatara, and the eggs of ground-nesting birds.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 15, 2014

“This weta might occur elsewhere as well as Denniston, but what it highlights is that destroying distinctive habitat is likely to destroy biodiversity even before we know it is there,” Trewick said.

From Scientific American • Dec. 11, 2012

M.U. is also currently undertaking a project—called Beta Weta Geta—to classify the taxonomy and biodiversity of all of New Zealand’s cave weta species.

From Scientific American • Dec. 11, 2012

The tree weta is the world's heaviest adult insect; the larvae of goliath beetles are even heavier.

From National Geographic

And yet the weta is outweighed by a larvae, the grub of the goliath beetle, which weighs in at 4.1 ounces.

From National Geographic

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