L. H. Field (ed.)
CABI, Wallingford, UK
2001, 540 pp.
US $175.00, ISBN: 0-85199-408-3

As a kid growing up in New Zealand the coolest thing you could catch in Poppa’s neatly trimmed hedge was a weta. These ferocious looking orthopterans with exaggerated heads (a condition termed megacephaly) and heavily spined hind legs not only captivate and inspire awe in keen young bug collectors but also intrigue adult Kiwi’s too, who vacillate between repulsion and extreme fondness for this unique fauna. The insects covered in The Biology of Wetas, King Crickets, and Their Allies are mainly flightless nocturnal members of the orthopteran superfamilies Stenopelmatoidea and Gryllacridoidea, which are collectively referred to as king crickets. Members of this group are found in Africa; Australia; Madagascar; North, Central, and South America; and New Zealand. Editor Laurence Field (Department of Zoology at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand) has made a truly exquisite contribution to the entomological literature with assistance from authors in Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, and the United States who specialize in this fascinating group. The 540-page book is divided into seven sections: (1) systematics and biogeography, (2) morphology and anatomy, (3) ecology, (4) behavior, (5) reproduction and development, (6) physiology, and (7) conservation.

The book is written clearly, laid out logically, and extremely well illustrated with good quality black and white photographs, graphs, tables, and line drawings. There is so much fascinating information in this book that once you start reading it you cannot stop because of the incredible bizarreness of what is being described. For me (a biological control specialist) the most interesting sections were on behavior, ecology, and the diversity of secondary sexual characteristics and the selection pressures leading to these states. For example, tree wetas in the genus Hemideina opportunistically utilize galleries in trees chewed by larvae of the kanuka long horn beetle, Ochrocydus huttoni Pascoe (Cerambycidae). The dimensions of these galleries create a limiting mechanism to Fisher’s runaway sexual selection of megacephaly in males by limiting access to males with head capsules that can fit through gallery entrances. Males with ultra-large heads are excluded from protective tunnels and are removed by predators. Exaggerated secondary sexual characteristics reach an extreme in male tusked-wetas (Motuweta) where elephantine tusks on the mandibles can reach 44% of the body length. These are used in highly ritualized combats. Radio telemetry studies have aided understanding of the ecology of the extremely rare giant wetas (Deinacrida spp.) and defense-resource polygyny (i.e., harem guarding) in Hemideina spp. Laboratory studies of Jerusalem crickets have revealed the most extreme of parental investments–postcoital cannabilism of passive males after spermatophore transfer, which occurs about 10% of the time.

Perhaps the most outrageous defense behaviors detailed are exhibited by two species of riverine anostostomatids from Australia and New Zealand. These insects live adjacent to streams and jump into the water when disturbed and crawl submerged over rocks to escape predators. The New Zealand species can remain submerged for up to 5 minutes!

The only section that is not fully developed is the final eight-page chapter on conservation. This chapter focused exclusively on giant weta conservation projects in New Zealand and should have been expanded to at least cover the spectacular anostostomatids of Australia and South Africa. These insects are used as biodiversity flagship species for preserving unique and endangered fauna in these countries and, given the high public interest in this area right now, greater detail on the varieties, goals, and success (or lack of) of these conservation projects is warranted.

Much of the material in The Biology of Wetas, King Crickets, and Their Allies is presented or reviewed for the first time and is a fundamental information source for experts dealing with these insects. However, the content of this book will satisfy the needs of a broader audience, and it deserves a place in the libraries of museum, zoo, teaching (primary and high schools, and universities), and conservation agencies. This book provides excellent information for advanced tertiary level classes in behavior and evolution.

Mark S. Hoddle
Department of Entomology
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521
American Entomologist
Vol. 47, No.4, Winter 2001