The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae of the suborder Ensifera has a worldwide distribution. Common names for these insects include jumping wētā, cave wētā, cave crickets, camelback crickets, camel crickets, Hogan bugs, spider crickets, land shrimp, and sand treaders. Those occurring in New Zealand and Australia are typically referred to as jumping or cave wētā. Most are found in forest environments or within caves, animal burrows, cellars, under stones, or in wood or similar environments. All species are flightless and nocturnal, usually with long antennae and legs. More than 500 species of Rhaphidophoridae are described.
The family Gryllidae contains the subfamilies and genera which entomologists now term true crickets. Having long, whip-like antennae, they belong to the Orthopteran suborder Ensifera, which has been greatly reduced in the last 100 years : taxa such as the spider-crickets and allies, sword-tail crickets, wood or ground crickets and scaly crickets have been elevated to family level. The type genus is Gryllus and the first use of the family name "Gryllidae" was by Francis Walker.
Dendroplectron aucklandensis the Auckland Island wētā, is a cave wētā in the family Rhaphidophoridae, the only member of the genus Dendroplectron. It is endemic to the subantarctic Auckland Islands of New Zealand.
Macropathus is a genus of cave wētā in the family Rhaphidophoridae, endemic to New Zealand.
Isoplectron is a genus of cave wētā in the family Rhaphidophoridae with three species currently recognized. The genus is endemic to New Zealand and distributed throughout the country.
Insulanoplectron is a genus of cave wētā in the family Rhaphidophoridae, with just one species: the Snares Island Wētā. Insulanoplectron spinosum is endemic to the subantartic Snares Island of New Zealand, where it is considered to be naturally uncommon. Wētā are nocturnal crickets found all around the world. During the day on the Snares, wētā can be found hiding in seabird burrows.
Novoplectron is a monotypic genus of cave wētā in the family Rhaphidophoridae, endemic to the Chatham Islands. Cave wētā are nocturnal, wingless crickets that occupy humid habitats. Novoplectron wētā generally live under stones and in burrows of seabirds, such as broad-billed prions, mutton birds and storm petrels.
Pharmacus is a genus of cave wētā in the family Rhaphidophoridae, endemic to New Zealand. All species are alpine adapted and found at high elevations in the South Island. They live among rocks on high mountain ridges, often well above glaciers and vegetation. Pharmacus has a geographical range that extends from Nelson south to central Otago and Fiordland. They are small insects with a body length of approximately 14-20mm. In this genus, females are larger than males. All species exhibit dark brown to black pigmentation of the body and legs. They have a dense clothing of setae and a serrated ovipositor. When active they are lively jumpers. For example, Pharmacus montanus is known as the Mount Cook flea because of its habit of leaping out of rock crevices on to mountain climbers.
Pleioplectron is a genus of cave wētā in the family Rhaphidophoridae, endemic to New Zealand. These wētā are fairly common at night among the leaf litter in native forest in the South Island of New Zealand. The species look very similar to species of Miotopus, another New Zealand endemic genus, recently resurrected.
Tasmanoplectron isolatum is a rare nocturnal species of cave cricket, and is the only species represented in the genus Tasmanoplectron, belonging to the family Rhaphidophoridae. In 1971, Aola M. Richards was first to describe this species in Tasmania, Australia, where its geographical distribution is restricted to. The genus is thought to have affinities with New Zealand fauna due to its marked differences from the other Australian Rhaphidophoridae.
Pachyrhamma waitomoensis, known as the Waitomo cave weta, is a large species of cave weta, native to the Waitomo district of New Zealand.
Pachyrhamma acanthoceras, also known as the Auckland cave wētā, is a large species of cave wētā endemic to New Zealand.
Pharmacus montanus, the Mount Cook flea, is a type of cave wētā found above the tree line in the South Island of New Zealand. It was first described by Francois Jules Pictet de la Rive and Henri Saussure in 1893. Pharmacus montanus is one of the most widespread species within the genus, found from Aoraki/Mount Cook to Mt Owen in northern South Island. The highest recorded specimens of this species are from a population between 2700 and 2800 m above sea level on Mt Annan above the Tasman Glacier.
Pachyrhamma edwardsii is a species of wētā, in the family Rhaphidophoridae, endemic to New Zealand. This species is found in caves, or large cavities where there is high humidity and little plant or animal life.
Wētā is the common name for a group of about 100 insect species in the families Anostostomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae endemic to New Zealand. They are giant flightless crickets, and some are among the heaviest insects in the world. Generally nocturnal, most small species are carnivores and scavengers while the larger species are herbivorous. Although some endemic birds likely prey on them, wētā are disproportionately preyed upon by introduced mammals, and some species are now critically endangered.
Talitropsis sedilloti is a species of flightless wētā, in the family Rhaphidophoridae, endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand. This species is common in forests throughout New Zealand and during the day can be found hiding in holes in tree branches.
Aola Mary Richards was a New Zealand entomologist specialising in the study of New Zealand and Australian cave crickets (Rhaphidophoridae) and Australian ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae). She was the first New Zealand woman to gain a PhD in Biology.
Parvotettix is an extant genus of cave cricket from the order Orthoptera in the family Rhaphidophoridae, endemic to Tasmania, Australia. The genus was established in 1968 by Aola Richards and contains six species she described. Parvotettix is a sister group to the subfamily Macropathinae, forming a paraphyletic Australian grouping.
Novotettix is a monotypic genus of cave cricket/wētā in the family Rhaphidophoridae endemic to south-east Australia.
