Giant Cockroach

The Madagascar hissing cockroach is often referred to as the giant cockroach. However, the Rhinoceros cockroach is also sometimes called the giant cockroach. 

When fully grown, giant hissing cockroaches can reach three inches in length and one inch in width. Hissing cockroaches are wingless, sanitary, odorless and slow-moving. They are native of Madagascar and thrive on forest floors in rotting logs, where they feed on decaying fruits and vegetables, as well as other organic matter.  The female giant hissing cockroach gives birth to live young. The male giant hissing cockroach is commonly found fighting with other males using its horns. Their distinctive hiss is created by expelling air through abdominal spiracles and serves multiple functions, including aggression, mating, colony hierarchy and communication.

Rhinoceros cockroaches, also known as giant burrowing cockroaches or litter bugs, are wingless, glossy, dark brown and stout-bodied. They are the heaviest species of cockroach ever recorded, weighing more than one-ounce when full-grown. This species can also grow in excess of three inches in length. Rhinoceros cockroaches live in deep underground burrows and consume dead leaves. Unlike other species of cockroaches, they reproduce only once each year. Like the female hissing cockroach, the female giant burrowing cockroach gives birth to live young. She may then take care of her offspring for up to two years.

Hissing Cockroach Scientific Name

Hissing Cockroach Facts