Ecology and systematics of the wine wētā and allied species, with description of four new Hemiandrus species

Abstract

ABSTRACT Wētā (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae) are a well-recognised component of New Zealand nocturnal ecology, but much of the diversity remains undescribed and only partly characterised. Species of Hemiandrus conceal themselves during the day in soil burrows and most are infrequently encountered, however, one taxon is notorious in some South Island vineyards. We demonstrate that this wētā at unusually high density in some vineyards in the Awatere valley is also found in North Island forests (Hemiandrus bilobatus). Here we use morphological and genetic data to identify the wine wētā and examine its ecology in vineyards. We also describe four new species which belong to the same ground wētā clade as the wine wētā. We provide mtDNA analysis and diagnostic morphological characters to distinguish six Hemiandrus species that are characterised by adult females having an extremely short ovipositor and maternal care.