It's good news for one of the world's heaviest insects

Have you heard of the wētāpunga?

It's New Zealand's heaviest insect species and some believe it to be one of the heaviest in the world.

Well, a breeding programme that's been running for 15 years has shown signs of success, with 11,000 of the insects introduced to 10 new wild sites.

As a result, the country's threat classification system - which monitors how endangered, or at risk, a species is - has moved the wētāpunga from Threatened – Nationally Endangered to a Threatened – Nationally Increasing status.

New Zealand's Department of Conservation says that wētāpunga, which are native to the country, were impacted by early European settlers clearing their habitats for farming, and introducing pests into the wildlife.

This led to all wētāpunga populations becoming extinct, except on Te Hauturu-o-Toi, also known as Little Barrier Island.

Over the years, conservationists - those working to help protect animals - moved a number of the insects from there to breeding colonies to help boost their numbers.

By 2025, more than 11,000 wētāpunga had been raised at the Auckland and Butterfly Creek zoos.

Dr. Chris Green is the lead author of the scientific paper reporting the news, and he says: "The future of wētāpunga is looking bright."

The wētāpunga is the heaviest orthopteran - which is an order, or group, of insects that includes grasshoppers, crickets, and locusts - in the world.

They can grow up to 10cm in length.

They have been around for absolutely ages - around 190 million years.

And, rather unusually... they have ears on their legs.