Malagasy Mound-building Termite vs Boll's Wood Cockroach

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Malagasy Mound-building Termite Boll's Wood Cockroach
Scientific Name Microcerotermes subtilis Parcoblatta bolliana
Order Blattodea Blattodea
Family Termitidae Ectobiidae
Size 3-5 mm 12-16 mm
Habitat Underground Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Madagascar Texas and the south-central United States
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Malagasy Mound-building Termite

A small termite species that constructs conspicuous carton mounds on tree trunks or the ground. Workers are pale and soft-bodied with darkened head capsules.

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Did You Know?

Its dark carton mounds are made from a mixture of soil, chewed wood, and fecal material cemented together, and they can persist for years even after the colony dies.

Boll's Wood Cockroach

A small native wood cockroach from the south-central United States. It lives under bark and in rotting logs in wooded areas.

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Did You Know?

It was named after the naturalist Jacob Boll, a Swiss-American who collected insects in Texas in the 1870s.