[2] There are seven species within the wētā genus Hemideina, found throughout the country except lowland Otago and Southland.

They are up to 40 mm long and most commonly live in holes in trees formed by beetle and moth larvae or where rot has set in after a twig has broken off.

The hole, called a gallery, is maintained by the wētā and any growth of the bark surrounding the opening is chewed away.

They readily occupy a preformed gallery in a piece of wood (a "wētā motel") and can be kept in a suburban garden as pets.

[8][9] Males have larger heads and stronger jaws than females, though both sexes will stridulate and bite when threatened.