Scientists have restored the population of the world's largest insect in New Zealand

The population of the New Zealand endemic wetapung has been restored thanks to a breeding program in which 11,000 individuals have been released into the wild. This was reported on October 5 by The Guardian, citing experts.

"The future of watapung looks promising," said Dr. Chris Green, co—author of the study and a member of the species restoration program.

It is specified that vetapungs are considered the heaviest insects in the world: a female can weigh as much as a mouse, the body length reaches 10 cm, and the leg span is 20 cm. Previously, the number of the species had declined sharply due to human-introduced predators and the loss of its natural habitat.

Over the past 15 years, Butterfly Creek and Auckland Zoo specialists have raised tens of thousands of individuals. The insects were relocated to predator-free islands and to some mainland reserves, and monitoring showed the formation of stable populations and the emergence of the fourth and fifth generations.

As a result, the conservation status of the insects was changed from "endangered at the national level" to "recovering". According to Green, the success of the program can serve as an example for other rare species conservation projects.

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