| Panesthia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Panesthia augustipennis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Blattodea |
| Family: | Blaberidae |
| Subfamily: | Panesthiinae |
| Genus: | Panesthia Serville, 1831 |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Panesthia is a large genus of burrowing giant cockroaches in the subfamily Panesthiinae. [1] [2] Species of the genus are subsocial and are mainly found in Southeast Asia, coastal East Asia, Australasia, and Indo-Malaysia. [2] [3]
Many species feed on wood, the best-studied being Panesthia angustipennis. Until recently it was believed that Panesthia and other members of Panesthiinae do not rely on the hindgut for wood digestion, [4] but it is now believed that a "fiber-associated microbiome" might be contributing to up to 1/5th of the total xylanase and cellulase activities in the gut of P. angustipennis. [5]