My Native Kaytdid NZ Writing

We have been learning about minibeasts in class as part of science. We have been creating information reports on a minibeast of our choice. The minibeast we chose had to live in Aotearo/NZ. Here is my writing I worked with luken for this topic.

Physical Features

The NZ Katydid is green and it jumps very high. The Katydid is related to weta. They’re also a type of bush cricket and grasshopper. The grasshopper is a type of insect. The Kikipounamu/katydid are moeao(nocturnal) and are also able to fly. Their life span can be a little bit shorter than a year.

Habitat

The Kikipounamu like to live down low and not up high. They’re sometimes found where there are lots of plants around. They’re mostly found in Shrubs. They live(wahi noho) in shrubs and near plants so they can move underneath the leaves (rau) and not be seen. They also can live in gardens.

What They Eat

KikiPounamu’s favourite food(kai) to eat is flowers(puaka) and flower stems. Their most common food to eat is fruit because it lives in gardens and in the gardens there is lots of fruit growing. Their least favourite food is other little types of insects(mu) like aphids (aphids are a type of little green insect). Out of all the insects they mostly eat aphids because they’re the tastiest insect that’s smaller than them.

Reproduction

The Kikipounamu lay their eggs (heki) at night because they’re moeao (nocturnal). Plants are a very important role in the reproduction and lifecycle. The eggs are laid on the ground in the soil in the gardens. The females have a long straight organ that comes out of their body and lays the eggs (heki in the soil. 

Social Behaviour
The Kikipounamu doesn’t often live in groups but if they do live in groups they will be very small groups. They don’t talk to each other if they are not in a group. Only the ladies (wahine) are in groups. Only the ladies (wahine) are social, unlike the male (tane) Kikipounamu. The girl (wahine) katydids are very playful unlike the  male (tane) katydids.The Kikipounamu makes a chirping sound.

Threats

Cats are predators to Kikipounamu, also possums,rats and stoats. Us humans have to stop destroying their homes by picking flowers off bushes. We need to stop wrecking their habitat. “It’s the

right thing to do.”

                         By Kayden And Luken [ZB]

                           

Animation By Kayden

Today we were learning about Animation on google slides. I made an Animation about a spaceship colliding into a space man. We also had to change some of the code to make it work properly. 

Weta Report - Term 3

This is a piece of writing that we did for our minibeast topic when we were learning about Weta. We had to write an information report on  this insect.

Click here to see our success criteria   

    Amazing Weta Report                                                         

       

What is a weta? 

Weta are a native insect to New Zealand.They have six legs and they are cold
blooded.They have an abdomen and thorax. People think weta look very ugly
and this is why Maori people also called them punga which means they are the
spirit of ugliness.Weta also have ears on their knees. Weta are an
invertebrate which means they have no backbone.Weta can live up to 2 years
and their weight can go up to 30g. They also have sticky feet.               

    Where do weta live? 

Weta live in rotten logs.They also live in holes in trees,burrows in the ground
,sea coast caves,hollow tree trunks and Island sanctuaries.These are all the
places that weta live.

  

What does a weta eat?

Weta eat other bugs and also eat flowers. Weta also eat fruit, carrots,leaves
and lichen.

Where does a weta breed?

Weta breed in alpine environments,forests,grassland,caves,shrub lands and
urban gardens.Weta mate in spring or summer.Female weta lay their eggs in
autumn.The eggs stay in the ground for a year.As the babies grow they have
to shed their skin. 

Threats to weta 

Before humans came the only threats to weta were tuatara and birds.Humans brought animals like cats,rats,hedgehogs,stoats and ferrets that also now eat weta.Humans have also destroyed weta habitats.This means some weta are endangered. We can look after weta by making sure they have habitats to live in and predator free areas where they are safe.