|
|
This
story is called 'Willie and the Weta' it's not a
true story, but it does have some true facts about
Weta in it. It is from the November 1997 Kiwi
Conservation Club magazine....
|
|
"I think," said
Willie, shaking sawdust off his whiskers,
"ice-cream grubs are my very, very favourite food.
What do you think, Kiri?"
Willie had been tearing at a log with his strong
beak. The ground was littered with pieces of rotten
wood, and Kiri was probing them with her beak,
sniffing to see if a grub hid inside.
"You’re right Willie. Worms are good, but
they’re a bit earthy, if you know what I mean.
And beetles are tasty but ... but ... "
" ... too crunchy," agreed Willie. "Slaters are a
bit crunchy too. But ice-cream grubs, they’re
just squishy and delicious."
He set about demolishing the log again, and out
fell a fat grub, cream coloured and swollen. They
took bite and bite about.
|
|
"Oooh," sighed Kiri.
"Try that crack, Willie, I can smell something in
there."
Willie levered open the crack and was about to poke
his beak in when a big, angry weta scrambled out.
Willie gave a shriek and fell backwards, stepping
on Kiri’s toes so both birds tripped over.
"Quick!" shouted Kiri, struggling to get up again.
"Where’s it gone? Get it Willie, get it!"
Willie picked himself up slowly and looked around.
"It’s gone," he said.
|
|
"Humph, you were a
bit slow," grumbled Kiri. "That was a huge weta.
Let’s look for it, it can’t have gone
far."
"No, no, I’m full. Let’s sit down for a
while," said Willie, squatting down in a patch of
sunlight and starting to tidy his feathers. So they
did. After a while Willie said, "I didn’t
think you liked weta."
"Oh, I do," said Kiri. "A bit scratchy on the
outside, but delicious in the middle."
There was a pause. Then Willie said, "If I tell you
a secret, will you promise not to laugh?"
"All right."
"Promise?"
"Cross my beak and hope to die," said Kiri.
"I’m scared of weta."
Kiri’s beak fell open in astonishment, and
then she rolled about on the moss, laughing and
laughing and laughing. "Scared of weta! YOU, scared
of weta!"
Willie was offended. "You promised not to laugh,"
he protested.
"I’m sorry Willie. But it’s so funny! You
being scared of weta. A big weka like you! You
could easily grab that weta before it nipped
you."
"I know I could. But it’s the feelers, Kiri,
and the scratchy legs." Willie shuddered. "Hey,
let’s look for worms."
Some weeks later, Henry came to see his friends.
They sat in the sun on the river bank and Henry
told them about school, and lessons, and rugby.
Willie was excited about rugby. "Like chasing a
beetle," he said. "But you don’t eat it, so I
don’t see the point," he later said to Kiri.
He was very interested in lessons too, and Henry
would explain things while the two birds
listened.
"We’re studying native animals at present,"
said Henry. "Native animals are very special."
"I know," said Willie.
"Most of our native animals are only found in New
Zealand, and no where else."
"I know," said Willie.
"It’s because New Zealand is so far away from
other countries, so native animals are marooned
here."
"I know," said Willie.
"So we’re studying one of the most ancient and
special species, the weta."
"Really? I knew I was special," said Willie,
fluffing his feathers.
"No, not weka, Willie, we’re studying
WETA."
"WETA!" screeched Willie. "Silly insects! How
ridiculous. You should be studying me."
"I know you’re special, Willie," said Henry,
"but weta are really amazing too. Do you know they
are still just like their ancestors, who lived 190
million years ago?"
"I don’t believe it," said Willie huffily.
"How can you know that?"
"People have found weta sandwiched in rocks.
They’re called fossils."
"Squished in a rock 190 million years ago?
You’re pulling my feathers!"
"It wasn’t rock when the weta got stuck in it,
it was mud, and now it’s been squashed into
rock. I know it sounds funny but it’s true,
Willie. Scientists have ways of telling the age of
rocks, the oldest at the bottom and the youngest at
the top. But I want to find a real, live weta. Will
you help me?"
"Me? No! I mean ... there’s not many around
... they’re really hard to find," said
Willie.
|
|
Henry was
disappointed. Kiri was silent, torn between wanting
to help Henry, and not wanting to give away
Willie’s secret. Then she had an idea.
"I know a place where you can find weta, Henry!
They’re too high up for me to reach, so I
haven’t eaten them. They’re different to
the tree sort, very leggy and not so scratchy, but
I’m sure they’re weta. I’ll show
you."
She led the way with Henry almost treading on her
in his excitement, and Willie trailing behind. Up
stream, where the forest was dark and mossy,
boulders had fallen from the cliff. They were
covered with mosses and ferns and wrapped in tree
roots. Kiri squeezed between two boulders to the
opening of a cave.
"In here," she said, sniffing the darkness.
"I can smell them."
"Cave weta!" exclaimed Henry. "Wow! Lucky I’ve
got a torch." He took off his pack and fished a
torch out of the pocket. Then he ducked down and
stepped cautiously into the darkness. From the
entrance Willie watched the torch beam dance around
the rock walls.
|
|
|
"Come and look,"
called Henry. "There are cave weta everywhere! Big
ones and little ones."
"It’s a bit um ... bright for my eyes," said
Willie.
"I’ll bring one out to show you."
"Don’t bother…" said Willie, but Henry
was already coming out, walking very carefully with
a weta clinging to his hand. He knelt down to show
it to the birds.
"Just look at those feelers! And the legs, and ...
see ... this must be a female because this spike is
for laying eggs. I can even see its hearing place
on the front leg. Look closer Willie," and he
thrust the weta under Willie’s beak.
Willie squarked and tripped backwards, cracking his
head on a boulder.
When he opened his eyes, his head was cushioned on
the moss, Kiri was grooming her feathers and Henry
was watching him anxiously.
"Oh Willie! Are you alright?"
Willie nodded groggily. "Just tripped. The weta ...
where’s the weta?"
"I put it back in the cave," said Henry.
"Just rest Willie, and we’ll find you some
worms."
Soon Willie was sitting up, eating worms and
feeling much better. Kiri even found him an
ice-cream grub, and he told Henry how they were his
favourites.
"Funny, isn’t it, to think they turn into huhu
beetles?" said Henry.
"Ice-cream bugs turn into huhu beetles!"
"Yes they do," and Henry drew pictures in the dirt
to show the birds.
"Well," said Willie faintly. "Finish this er ...
huhu grub for me Kiri. I think I’ll stick to
worms. You know where you are with
worms."
|
|