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Sticker of Giant cave cockroach
Bug card No. 0576 of 1,500

Giant cave cockroach

Blaberus giganteus
Eats: Leftovers and dead thingsCockroaches and termitesRainforests and jungles6 legs

The giant cave cockroach is one of the biggest cockroaches in the world. Its flat brown body with black markings can be as long as a grown-up's finger. It loves dark, damp places like caves and hollow trees in the rainforest.

Lives in
Warm parts of Central and South America, from Mexico to Brazil and on Caribbean islands
Length
7.5 to 10 cm (3 to 3.9 in)
the biggest ones
Wingspan
15 cm (5.9 in)
Top speed
about 5.5 km/h (3.4 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not sting and just wants to hide in the dark.
What does it eat?
It comes out at night and eats mostly rotting leaves and plants. It also eats fruit, seeds, dead animals and bat droppings.
For real!Photo of Giant cave cockroach
Picture by Didier Descouens. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Giant cave cockroach about 10 cm long (3.9 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)

How wide are its wings?

Giant cave cockroach wings about 15 cm tip to tip (5.9 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)A house cat about 50 cm (20 in)
as long as 3 toy building bricks in a rowabout as long as your handwings as wide as your handcould run across a dinner table in 0.7 seconds

How big is Giant cave cockroach compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its wings can be about 15 centimetres across, but the heavy females do not like to fly much.

2

Its body is so flat that it can squeeze into cracks to hide from hungry animals.

3

It often lives in caves together with bats and eats their droppings.

4

The babies' very first meal is the egg case they hatched from.

5

Tiny helpful bacteria live inside its body and turn its waste into useful food.

you asked

Most asked questions about Giant cave cockroach

?How big is the giant cave cockroach?

The biggest males grow to about 7.5 centimetres and the females to about 10 centimetres long.

?Is the giant cave cockroach dangerous?

No. It does not sting and is harmless to people.

?What does the giant cave cockroach eat?

Mostly rotting plants, but also fruit, seeds, dead animals and bat droppings.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Blaberus giganteus
Group
Cockroaches and termites
Family
Blaberidae
Classification
Insecta > Blattodea > Blaberidae
Lives on
North America, South America
Also known as
Central American giant cave cockroach, Brazilian cockroach

Where the facts come from

  1. Blaberus giganteus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Didier Descouens. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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