In the memory of George Gibbs
September 16, 2026
A legend has left his world. His legacy continues.
To safeguard Aotearoa’s unique wētā by engaging, empowering, and educating communities to help preserve their species diversity and restore their habitats
The Wētā Conservation Charitable Trust aims to preserve New Zealand’s biodiversity so that wētā, grasshoppers and allied insects (Orthoptera) and their natural habitat are protected to benefit present and future New Zealanders.
Video credit: Otago Polytechnic ADT3 branding class 2024
The most recent assessment of the threat classification status of New Zealand Orthoptera (2022) recognizes 162 taxa, not all of which have been described; 157 of these are native. Of 157 taxa, 18 are listed as “Threatened”, 27 are “At Risk”, 17 are “Data Deficient”. The main threat to all of our endangered Orthoptera is predation by introduced mammals, followed by habitat loss.
Learn more about our threatened species.
Our Projects
Monitoring of the Nationally Endangered giant wētā Deinacrida pluvialis across the Southern Alps, between Fiordland National Park and the Taramakau River.
Filling in any gaps in our knowledge of New Zealand’s orthopteran biodiversity by delimiting and describing new and unresolved taxa.
Latest News
A legend has left his world. His legacy continues.
Once believed to be secure because it was assumed to live above the level of rat invasion, Deinacrida pluvialis shows declines of more than 90% over 30 years at two localities
Thank you to David Tait and Twisted Frequency Festival for supporting the Wētā Conservation Charitable Trust