Mark-recapture study of mountain stone weta Hemideina maori (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae) on rock tor ‘islands’

little is known about survival, longevity, dispersal, and social organisation of tree weta in the wild (Trewick and Morgan-Richards, 1995). Their relatively large size for an insect allows tree weta to be easily tagged. This, plus their flightlessness, potentially makes them ideal species for mark-recapture studies. The mountain stone weta, Hemideina maori (Pictet and Saussure), is unusual for a tree weta in that it occupies a treeless environment. In the Rock and Pillar Range, they are found primarily in cavities under rock slabs which have broken off from schist outcrops or ‘tors’ (Meads, 1990; King et al., 1996; Gwynne and Jamieson, 1998). Tors range in size from a single rock a few metres in width to three to four large rock columns 20-30 m in diameter. Tors are separated by alpine meadows where there are no rocks and presumably no weta. Therefore each rock tor could essentially represent an island habitat, but we presently do not know the degree of isolation between such islands. Further, Gwynne and Jamieson (1998) measured weta on several of these tors and found a positive correlation between male head size and harem size. However, the time individual males or females Introduction