Amphibious litter cockroach
Adult females of this cockroach grow more than twice as long as males, and both sexes wear a narrow red edged skirt around the body.
| Where | Forest litter across South and East Asia |
|---|---|
| Size | 15 to 38 mm body length |
| When | January to December |
This cockroach is glossy black with a narrow red edged border around the abdomen and a pale, almost see through margin on the front of the pronotum. Females are noticeably larger and heavier bodied than males, which stay small and slimmer in comparison.
Adults and nymphs live in damp leaf litter and rotting wood on the forest floor, hiding under bark and stones by day and moving about after dark. They do not fly, do not bite, and are often kept as a calm, easy to handle pet species.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Black, White, Red
Active
Night
To people
Docile and does not bite; safe to handle.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Uniform brown with a sharp pale yellow margin on the pronotum and wing bases, and full wings that let it fly, unlike this species' short wings and red edged body.
Questions
Is the Amphibious litter cockroach dangerous to people?
Docile and does not bite; safe to handle.
When can you see the Amphibious litter cockroach?
The Amphibious litter cockroach can be seen from January to December, at night.
Plate retouched from a photo by scottedmunds, CC0, iNaturalist Licence
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Cockroaches and termites›Blaberidae›Opisthoplatia
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.