[11] Most species within the Deinacrida genus exhibit scramble competition polygyny, where male wētā travel to find mature females within an area.
Males of species such as the alpine Scree Wētā (Deinacrida connectens) aim to detect as many females as possible to mate with, increasing their reproductive success.
[13] Research suggests a correlation between body size of the female Cook Straight giant wētā (Deinacrida rugosa) and quantities of sperm deposited by their male mates.
However, it has been established that males are transferring a higher quantity of spermatophores to the lighter females, when compared to their heavier counterparts, suggesting an intentional allocation of reproductive effort.
However, this study indicates males may choose to supply the smaller females with more spermatophores as a way to ensure paternity and decrease the risk of sperm competition, which may also be true of other giant wētā species.
[18] Similarly, it is implied that very little courtship behaviour occurs, but instead pairs engage in repetitive copulation to promote the maturation of eggs or spermatophores.
[19] Additionally, there is very limited information about parental care of giant wētā species, but similar species groups of ground weta (Hemiandrus) have shown that females provide their eggs and larvae with care, and males provide females with a spermatophylax to ensure she has essential nutrients to produce healthy young.
Recent studies have shown the use of vibrational communication between Cook Strait giant wētā as a display of intrasexual agonism.
[23] It has been seen that male individuals are producing low frequency sounds (~37 Hz) through a process called dorso-ventral tremulation, which then travel through different materials found in their environments including bark and leaflitter.
[26] Since humans began inhabiting New Zealand in ~1280 AD, there has been consistent introduction of mammalian and bird species, many of which are predators to native fauna.
In 1962, the presumably extinct Mahoenui giant wētā species were found in a small population in the central North Island of New Zealand.
[8] The population was found thriving in a patch of gorse (Ulex europaeus), an introduced plant species widely recognised as an invasive weed.
[38] Located to the north of Auckland city, Te Hauturu-o-Toi, also known as Little Barrier Island is the home to the largest of the giant weta species, the wētāpunga (Deinacrida heteracantha).
As a result, the captively bred translocated individuals would act as a buffer if endangerment of the wētāpunga were to occur (due to infiltration by introduced species), while also helping maintain the native ecosystems involving other insects at these sites.