Pshaw! A weta's just a funny-lookin' cricket. Even the big ones are barely bigger than Oklahoma grasshoppers.
That is a pretty big weta, I'll give you that. The big ones are rare, though. There are littler ones all over the place - cricket-sized ones are very common around here in Auckland. I've seen grasshoppers well over half that size in OK - those bastards hurt when you smack into them when you're riding a motorcycle.
And just to return to the subject - wetas taste nasty, apparently. Bear Grylls did a survival-theatre show here, and he got some schmucks to eat wetas. They all said it was one of the foulest things they'd ever eaten. Edit - found it : http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/4725261/Bear-Grylls-eats-weta-and-wishes-he-hadn-t