Kiwi Birdlife Park wildlife manager Nicole Kunzmann said kiwi loved to forage for huhu grubs and "the tuatara love them even more".
The park bred earthworms and mealworms but due to the huhu grub's tricky life cycle, they were unable to breed the grub.
"They spend two to three years in the grub phase and about two weeks in the beetle phase," Ms Kunzmann said.
This made breeding the insects difficult, as they did not mate until they reached the beetle stage.
The park would most likely deplete its supply before breeding occurred.
"In the wild it gives them [the kiwi] a longer time to find them."
She said staff had found grubs in pine logs which had begun to break down and they had also been found in willow logs.
The huhu preferred decaying wood and she said logs with "big holes in them" were "usually a sign that the huhu are in there or have been in there".
She said if people found huhu grubs, the park would be grateful if they placed them in an icecream container, with a small amount of the wood they were found in and a light mist to keep them moist, then delivered them to the park.
The grubs were "really, really nutritious", Ms Kunzmann said, and they were in particular demand in the kiwi breeding season, which runs from July to February.
"It just kicked off. There's lots of mating going on."
In May, 5-month-old kiwi chick Tuku was released into a pest-free sanctuary in northern Hawkes Bay and Ms Kunzmann hoped at least one chick would be produced this year.
