Dictyoptera is an insect superorder that includes two extant orders of polyneopterous insects: the order Blattodea and the order Mantodea (mantises). All modern Dictyoptera have short ovipositors and typically lay oothecae. The oldest fossils of Dictyoptera from the Late Carboniferous, referred to as "roachoids" have long ovipositors and did not lay oothecae. The oldest modern oothecae-laying dictyopterans date to the Late Triassic.
Giant cockroaches, or blaberids, are the second-largest cockroach family by number of species. Mostly distributed in warmer climates worldwide, this family is based on the American genus Blaberus, but much of the diversity is also found in Africa and Asia.
Blattidae is a cockroach family in the order Blattodea containing several of the most common household cockroaches. Notable species include:
Ectobiidae is a family of the order Blattodea (cockroaches). This family contains many of the smaller common household pest cockroaches, among others. They are sometimes called wood cockroaches. A few notable species include:
Corydiidae, previously known as Polyphagidae, is a family of the order Blattodea (cockroaches). Many are known as sand cockroaches. The family is divided into five subfamilies, comprising some 40 genera. One prominent species is the desert cockroach, Arenivaga investigata.
Blattodea is an order of insects that contains cockroaches and termites. Formerly, termites were considered a separate order, Isoptera, but genetic and molecular evidence suggests they evolved from within the cockroach lineage, cladistically making them cockroaches as well. The Blattodea and the mantis are now all considered part of the superorder Dictyoptera. Blattodea includes approximately 4,400 species of cockroach in almost 500 genera, and about 3,000 species of termite in around 300 genera.
Diploptera, occasionally called beetle cockroaches, is a genus of blaberid cockroaches in the monotypic subfamily Diplopterinae. Cockroaches of this genus resemble beetles, with hardened tegmina and cross-folded hindwings. They live in tropical forests in South China and Southeast Asia, and Pacific islands including Hawaii. They are viviparous cockroaches and are therefore used for insect endocrinological studies.
Panchlora is a genus of cockroaches in the subfamily Panchlorinae, erected by Hermann Burmeister in 1838. Species are mostly found in the Americas and Africa. Most species in this genus are green in colour, but some are cream or grey.
Lucihormetica luckae is a species of giant cockroach (Blaberidae) from Ecuador.
Blattellinae is a subfamily of the wood cockroach family, Ectobiidae. It includes the global household pest Blattella germanica, the German cockroach, and a number of endangered species. It contains about 70 genera.
Lucihormetica verrucosa is a species of giant cockroach in the family Blaberidae, commonly known as the warty glowspot cockroach. It is native to Venezuela and Colombia.
Corydioidea is a superfamily of insects in the order Blattodea containing the cockroaches and termites. It contains two extant families, Corydiidae and Nocticolidae, comprising about fifty genera and two hundred and fifty species, along with the extinct family Liberiblattinidae. Members of this superfamily are found worldwide, mostly in hot, arid habitats.
Epilampra is a genus of cockroach in the family Blaberidae. There are more than 70 described species in the genus Epilampra.
Ischnoptera is a genus of cockroach in the family Ectobiidae.
Elliptorhina is a genus of large, flightless cockroaches that are part of the tribe Gromphadorhini. There are ten known species, nine of those found on the island of Madagascar and one, Elliptorhina lefeuvri, found on Europa Island. Some of its species are regularly seen in the pet trade.
Zetobora is a genus of cockroaches belonging to the family Blaberidae.
Panesthia is a large genus of burrowing giant cockroach in the subfamily Panesthiinae. It is subsocial and its species are mainly found in Southeast Asia, coastal East Asia, Australasia, and Indo-Malaysia.
Paratropes is a genus of cockroaches within the family Ectobiidae. There are currently 14 species assigned to the genus. Members of this genus are distributed across North and South America in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Panama and Peru.
Latindia is a genus of cockroaches in the family Corydiidae. There are about nine described species in Latindia.
Paranauphoeta is a genus of South East Asian cockroaches in the family Blaberidae and the monotypic subfamily ParanauphoetinaeRehn, 1951, erected by Carl Brunner von Wattenwyl in 1865. Species records are from India, China, Indochina, Malesia and New Guinea.
