Giant burrowing cockroach
The giant burrowing cockroach is the heaviest cockroach in the world, about as heavy as a small bird. It has no wings, a strong shiny brown armour and spiny legs for digging. It lives in a deep tunnel under the ground in Australia.
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Fun facts
It can weigh up to 35 grams, the most of any cockroach.
It digs a home up to a metre deep and lives there for good, which no other cockroach is known to do.
The mother looks after her babies in the burrow for five to seven months and brings them food.
It can live up to ten years, which is very long for an insect.
Right after it sheds its skin, it is completely white except for its eyes.
Most asked questions about Giant burrowing cockroach
?How big is the giant burrowing cockroach?
It can be up to 8 centimetres long and weigh up to 35 grams, making it the heaviest cockroach in the world.
?Can giant burrowing cockroaches fly?
No. They have no wings at all. They dig instead.
?Are giant burrowing cockroaches pests?
No. They live outdoors in the soil and help recycle dead leaves. Some people keep them as pets.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Macropanesthia rhinoceros
- Group
- Cockroaches and termites
- Family
- Blaberidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Blattodea > Blaberidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
- Also known as
- Rhinoceros cockroach, Queensland giant cockroach
Where the facts come from
- Giant burrowing cockroach (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Mark Pellegrini (Raul654). CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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