Globe Termite vs Woodlouse Cockroach

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Globe Termite Woodlouse Cockroach
Scientific Name Globitermes sulphureus Prosoplecta semperi
Order Blattodea Blattodea
Family Termitidae Ectobiidae
Size 4-7 mm 5-8mm
Habitat Woodlands Forests
Diet Wood Feeders Predators
Regions Southeast Asia, from Thailand to Indonesia Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Globe Termite

A Southeast Asian termite with soldiers that practice autothysis, or suicidal self-destruction. When threatened, soldiers contract their abdominal muscles to rupture their body wall, releasing a yellow, sticky secretion that entangles attackers. Colonies build small carton nests.

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Did You Know?

Soldiers literally explode when attacked, rupturing a gland filled with toxic yellow liquid that solidifies into a sticky trap, sacrificing themselves for the colony.

Woodlouse Cockroach

A tiny rounded cockroach that strongly resembles a ladybird beetle with its domed shape and red-orange coloring with black spots. It is a harmless forest floor species. Its mimicry deters predators.

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Did You Know?

It so closely resembles a ladybird that even entomologists can be fooled until they look at it under magnification.