Belonging to the order Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets) and confined entirely to New Zealand, wetas number around 70 species, resemble a cross between a cricket and a cockroach, and include some of the world’s largest insects. The largest species of weta is the Little Barrier Island giant weta Deinacrida heteracantha, with a maximum recorded length of 11 cm (including the ovipositor in the female), and a legspan of over 17.5 cm (7 in).