Giant Burrowing Cockroach
/
Macropanesthia rhinoceros or the Giant Burrowing Cockroach
These north-Queensland natives are the biggest cockroaches in the world! These insects really are giants (compared to other cockroaches), growing up to 80,000 micrometres (that's 8 centimetres) and weighing up to 35,000,000,000 nanograms (about 35 grams). Like a lot of cockroaches, the female Giant Burrowing Cockroach gives birth to up to 30 live young. The babies will stay in the burrow with their mum until they're old enough to venture out on their own. Being burrowers, these cockroaches have lost the need for flight and so they do not have wings.
Giant burrowing cockroach can be great, low maintenance pets. They can live for up to 10 years, and love to eat dry gum leaves. They are a far cry from the pesky introduced cockroaches that can be seen scurrying under the fridge when you turn your kitchen light on at night. Burrowing cockroaches are slow-moving, and would prefer to eat leaves in your yard rather than your left over pizza. Although these roaches are gigantic by today's standards, they're dwarfs compared to the insects that were around during the reign of the dinosaurs.
Did you know...
- These insects really are giants (compared to other cockroaches), growing up to 80,000 micrometres (that's 8 centimetres) and weighing up to 35,000,000,000 nanograms (about 35 grams).
- Being burrowers, these cockroaches have lost the need for flight and so they do not have wings.
- Like a lot of cockroaches, the female Giant Burrowing Cockroach gives birth to up to 30 live young.
- Although these roaches are giant by today's standards, they're dwarves compared to the insects that were around during the reign of the dinosaurs. The higher oxygen content in the air enabled insects to grow much, much larger, with some dragonflies having wingspans of up to 76 cm!
