Korean wood-feeding cockroach: No measured body size data available to draw at scale.
- · Grid units represent actual meters (m); human and animals are drawn to the exact same scale with original silhouette aspect ratios preserved.
- · When a size range is recorded (e.g. 1–1.6m), the lower bound is used for scale comparison.
- · Human silhouette: PhyloPic — NASA · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Korean wood-feeding cockroach
Cryptocercus kyebangensis (Korean wood-feeding cockroach · Korean wood-feeding cockroach)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 If you turn over a decaying log along a mountain trail, you can come across the galleries where these cockroaches live. Members of the genus Cryptocercus spend their entire lives inside rotten logs.
- 💡 Taking 4–5 years to become an adult is comparable in human terms to the period from kindergarten through the lower grades of elementary school (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Korean wood-feeding cockroach is a wood-eating cockroach in the genus Cryptocercus endemic to Korea. It was described as a new species in 2001 from specimens collected on Gyebangsan in Gangwon-do.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Cockroaches of the genus Cryptocercus lack wings in both sexes and have glossy brown to dark brown bodies with sturdy legs.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Except for a brief dispersal period when young, cockroaches in the genus Cryptocercus spend their entire lives inside galleries they excavate themselves within rotten logs. According to Korean research, this species reaches adulthood in the summer of its 4th to 5th year after hatching.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed on the National List of Species of Korea as a Korean endemic species, and its type locality is Gyebangsan in Gangwon-do. The IUCN notes that it lives in Korean forests and assessed it as Least Concern (LC, 2023).
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2023) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/190945872/191248189
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — ZVTW
- • iucnredlist.org — 191248189
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000020887 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000020887
- • wikidata.org — Q10462255
- • journals.flvc.org — 103390
- • cockroach.speciesfile.org — overview
- • koreascience.kr — JAKO200311921893629.do
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.