Cockroaches and Termites

Blattodea is an order of insects that contains cockroaches and termites. Collectively, Blattodea and the mantis order Mantodea are considered part of the superorder Dictyoptera. Formerly, termites were considered the separate order Isoptera, but genetic and molecular evidence suggests they evolved from within the cockroach lineage, which renders them cockroaches cladistically; the group of termites were subsumed into Blattodea and they are considered by some to be a divergent group of cockroaches. Blattodea includes approximately 4,400 species of cockroach in almost 500 genera, and about 3,000 species in around 300 genera within the termite clade.

Termites are pale-coloured, soft-bodied eusocial insects that live in colonies with a biological caste system. A pair of sexually mature reproductives, the king and the queen, breed to produce all other individuals within the colony, consisting of the numerous and sterile (non-breeding) workers and soldiers. In contrast, cockroaches are pigmented (often brown) and possess sclerotised body parts hardened with sclerotin. Cockroaches are not colonial but do have a tendency to aggregate, with some species considered to be pre-social as all adults within a social group are capable of breeding. Termites and cockroaches share several similarities, including various social behaviours, trail following, kin recognition, and methods of communication.