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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.

See Examples For:

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

The authors of the new paper suggest that the weta may no longer be found on the one island that was previously its home.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 22, 2014

Among the hundreds of species was the new weta, which bears a mostly black body, a distinctive white band behind its head and leg spines unlike other weta species.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 11, 2012

In our creepiest Halloween decor category, the heaviest "reliably reported" insect, according to the University of Florida's Book of Insect Records, is the giant weta.

From National Geographic

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

From National Geographic

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