Giants Among Giants

Queensland has unique giant cockroaches, quite unlike those from any other parts of the world.

There are about 20 different kinds of giant cockroaches. All are wingless, glossy dark brown and stout bodied and are sometimes mistaken as turtles. They live in deep burrows in the bush and feed on dead leaves, which they drag down from the surface. The females give birth to live babies, which they care for in the burrows for up to 2 years.The most popular exhibit in the Inquiry Centre is a live colony of Macropanesthia rhinoceros, the largest cockroach in the world. They make interesting pets and are available from some pet shops as 'macrobugs'.

Recently, Museum entomologists found a site near Middlemount in central Queensland where the cockroaches were the largest ever recorded. These record-breaking giants weighed more than 30 gm each (the weight of 2 sparrows) and measured 80 mm long.