''Panesthia lata'', the Lord Howe Island wood-feeding cockroach or Lord Howe Island cockroach, is a large, wingless

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the Order (biology), order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known Pest (organism), pests. Modern cockro ...

species endemic to the Lord Howe Island Group in the Tasman Sea.

Appearance and diet

''Panesthia lata'' is reasonably large, growing between . It is metallic in colour, with general black to reddish colouration. It can be distinguished from other related species by its abdominal morphology and the shape of its cerc

The species feeds on rotting wood and

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

, and has micro-organisms in its digestive system to help break down cellulose. It stays in the ground during the day and feeds at night.

Population

While once widespread across the archipelago, it was removed from Lord Howe Island proper by rats introduced in 1918, and none had been found for over 80 years. Today, the largest known populations occur on nearby islets, including Blackburn Island, Roach Island and

Ball's Pyramid Ball's Pyramid is an uninhabited islet in the Pacific Ocean located southeast of Lord Howe Island, between Australia and New Zealand. The steep rocky basalt outcrop is the eroded plug of a shield volcano and caldera that formed 6.4million ye ...

. The species is classified as "Endangered" under the New South Wales Threatened Species Act, and a plan exists to eventually reintroduce a population to Lord Howe Island.

Taxonomy

''Panesthia lata'' was first described in 1868 by Francis Walker in his "''Catalogue of the specimens of Blattariæ in the collection of the British Museum''".Description o
p. 24
!-- Actually does link to p. 24, despite the url saying p. 34. --> It is in the subfamily Panestheiinae, which is distributed across Southeastern Asia and Oceania.

Rediscovery on Lord Howe island

After not having been observed on

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...

for over 80 years, a biology student at the University of Sydney rediscovered them on the island in late 2022.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10615950 Cockroaches Insects of Australia Insects of Lord Howe Island Endangered insects Insects described in 1868